If the World Would Stop
by Abandon-Morality
Summary: When past mistakes lace the chance of a future, can the effects of human cruelty be undone, or will one man's troubled past bring about the destruction of humanity itself? SS / You'll see.
1. In the dark of the night

6 P.M.

*Tick* *Tock* *Tick* *Tock*

Sirius couldn't help but sigh as the clock above his bed continued to keep the same annoying pace as it had for the last twenty minutes.

He couldn't believe that he, the most popular boy of their year, was stuck at home during summer hols because of one stupid, _little_ fight with Moony. Not even a big, important fight, like the one that they had had over who got to keep the marauders' map over the break. One tiny, misplaced remark about house elves, and what did you know? Moony goes and has a conniption about creature rights.

Sirius sighed as he rolled over, taking in the full moon floating outside his bedroom window and sighed, wishing that he, Prongs, and Wormtail were out with their overly sentimental friend right now, but NOOO. Moony just had to give a damn about ever creature known to wizarding kind, didn't he?

And what was worse, James had decided to take Moony's side just to impress little miss goody-two-shoes!

Sirius grunted in frustration as he looked at the muggle women on his walls and grinned, satisfied that they had succeeded in making his parents as mad as James had that thought they would. Sirius rubbed his back, where a series of whelps were healing with the help of some foul smelling potion he had Kreatcher make for him, and couldn't help but think that they were worth it; at least now no one bothered to come into his room.

Wincing as his back found a loose spring on his bed, he got up, crossing to the window and peering out at the night sky, for once clear of the smoke that the muggles pumped into it. Looking back at the blackness, Sirius let his mind drift, landing eventually on the place that he missed the most; Hogwarts. Smiling slightly, he ran a hand through his unruly hair, thinking about how much he loved the last five years that he had spent there.

Suddenly, one thing stood out prominently in his thoughts, a thing that had no business crossing his mind at all, really. But in the darkness of his spacious room, with his back burning and his irritation mounting, Sirius wondered what slimy, Slytherin, Snivellus did for the hols?

Staring at the brightness of the moon, Sirius let his mind focus on the slim boy that he and his friends tormented whenever they could. His tense back, crooked teeth, and his trademarked greasy hair; every little detail that he could recall about the boy. "I wonder what he's doing." Sirius caught himself saying aloud, before snorting at the absurdity of the situation; he was spending the time that he could be devoting to luscious members of the opposite sex thinking about Snape.

Rolling out his shoulders, he lay face down on the bed, blinking at the scattered papers littering his floor, reading some of them before growing bored.

"Maybe I should go out?" He said to his bed post. "But where to? Moony is out being a wolf somewhere, James is in France with his parents, and Wormy isn't any fun without the others." Rolling over to his side, his gaze fell back on the moon, where it glowed brightly against the velvet sky.

With a jolt of electricity, Sirius got up from his bed, deciding that if all of his friends were out of the equation, he would just have to find an enemy to be entertained with.

Glancing around his room, he picked up his traveling cloak and broomstick, certain that no one would be of mind to check on him for at least a couple of hours.

Hopping onto the window sill, he took a deep breath before jumping, mounting his broom in midair.

Smiling as his house faded into the distance, Sirius let out a happy whoop, relieved that he could leave, even if it was for only a limited amount of time.

10 P.M.

Sirius didn't know what was harder to believe; that he was sitting outside of someone else's house in the bum hours of the night, or that he was waiting for his worst enemy to come out of the aforementioned house, which, of course, had taken him nearly four hours to find.

Grumbling, he looked up at the moon, now covered by a thick cloud of smog. Sighing, Sirius settled himself into the bushes, regretting that he had only brought a traveling cloak with him. Even though it was summer, the night wind was chilly and battered him where the brambles didn't protect.

Glancing at the house, Sirius couldn't help but shiver; the place gave off the same air as a graveyard and looked as old. The tiles on the roof were peeling and the paint that had probably started out as a dark blue had faded to a forlorn grey. Add in the iron bars on the windows and the cracked pavement, Sirius couldn't help but understand how someone wouldn't want to come back to this on the hols.

Shaking his head briskly, Sirius sighed, resigned to waiting for the little sod to emerge.

12:37 A.M.

For the thousandth time that night, Sirius cursed Severus Snape, promising himself that he would make the obnoxious little sod pay for this aggravation come the start of term.

Standing to leave, Sirius paused, the faintest creak of a yard door opening giving him the warning to crouch down. Peering though the brambles, Sirius saw a shadow separate itself from the side of the building.

As the figure looked up and down the street, Sirius unconsciously backed away, sending the branches swaying.

The figure held up a wand and pointed it at Sirius' hiding spot. Thinking fast, Sirius made low keening noises, mimicking his other form.

The figure held steady for several seconds before lowering his wand and walking further into the street.

Sirius had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep from making any noise; buried half in shadow, Severus Snape glared at the world. Keeping his mouth shut tightly, Sirius took in his query, noting several key differences between the Snape that he saw at school and the one standing not ten feet from him.

Blinking, Sirius crept through the branches until he could get a clearer look at the boy in front of him, and, sure enough, it was the same boy. But Snape was different than he was at school; the thick black robes that made him look like a bat were gone, and in their place were muggle clothes. Sirius took in the other boy's revealed figure, noting with an odd sense of satisfaction that without the cloaks Severus Snape was actually very slender, slight, even.

Snape looked at the window nearest him before sighing and walking down the street. And it was then that Sirius saw what was really different about the boy. Unlike all the other times that Sirius had seen him, Snape had his hair up in a loose ponytail, tendrils spilling out to frame a pale, smooth face. As Snape's eye flicked to the bushes, Sirius bit his lip to keep from making any sounds, recoiling at the intensity of the obsidian gaze.

Seconds passed with only the whisper of the wind to distract from those damned eyes, and Sirius couldn't stand it.

Snape crept forward, looking at the bush intently, and Sirius panicked, crossing into his dog form. Letting loose a low growl at Snape, Sirius retreated further into the brambles, ignoring the way that they tugged at his fur.

Snape froze, eyes narrowing before he nodded, making calm shushing noises as he started walking down the street, not turning his back on Sirius until he was almost ten feet away.

Creeping out of the brambles, Sirius watched the other boy walk away, intrigued in spite of himself as to where he was going. Padding out into the street, Sirius looked at the house, where, briefly, he had though that he had seen a flash of paleness marring the dark windows. Before Sirius could check what it was, he spotted Snape turning a corner and ran after him, instinctively wanting to follow him.

BANDON-MAKES-A-BREAK

They carried on in this manner for what seemed like forever; Snape would round a corner and Sirius would run after him, always behind him lest he get caught.

After several blocks, Sirius got the feeling that Snape knew that he was being followed; the other boy never looked back, but he moved through shadows, never allowing himself to be seen for more that the time it took for him to skirt the flickering street lamps.

Suddenly, Sirius heard something, a low humming, almost like a swarm of bees, and then he was frozen, held in place by some invisible force. Footsteps approached him, but he couldn't even move his eyes off of the ground.

Sirius wanted to growl, to whimper, to do anything other than wait helplessly to be discovered by the one person in the world who would kick him even in his adorable dog form.

"Hey, there." He heard from behind him, "Are you the one that was near my house, boy?"

And then Severus Snape rounded him, coming to rest in front of him, kneeling down so that he didn't tower. "It's okay, pup, don't be scared," the boy cooed, "I won't hurt you."

Sirius internally flinched as Snape's hand touched his muzzle, caressing it reassuringly. 'Fucking git,' Sirius though uncharitably, 'treating me like some stray.' Of course, he was in the body of a dog. And he was following behind a teenage boy in the middle of the night. And he didn't have a collar on, so it wasn't that much of a stretch, but still.

Snape just continued to make shushing noises as he pet him, and Sirius couldn't help but be calmed by it, relaxing the muscles the hadn't known that he could, realizing that the more he relaxed to more he could move.

"There," Snape said softly, "Isn't that better?"

Sirius snorted and nipped at the other boy's fingers, doing his best to look terrifying, but Snape just smiled kindly. "Don't be afraid, pup, I won't hurt you." Humming a tune, Snape continued to stroke the fur on Sirius' neck gently, putting him at ease against his will. Sirius sank down, rolling on his back unconsciously, though he yelped as he did, remembering the whelps there that his dog form still bore.

Frowning, Snape moved his hands over Sirius' back, feeling beneath the fur for damage.

When Snape's fingers found the broken, swollen skin, Sirius whimpered, having forgotten that wounds of a human's body were more severe than those of the same type on an animal's body.

Snape made shushing noises at him as he pulled out his wand.

Sirius backed away, snarling at the boy in front of him, who simply waved his wand in a benign figure-of-eight motion.

Seconds passed and Sirius didn't notice any differences, but Snape seemed content to sit and wait, so he sat down in front on the boy.

When Sirius finally convinced himself that it was completely ridiculous to sit in the middle of a muggle street with Severus Snape, several jars zoomed into sight, falling into the pallid boy's lap.

Smiling, Snape motioned Sirius over as he opened the jars. "This will heal you, pup," He said, scooping out a healthy amount of a green paste, "And this will prevent scarring," he added a finger of a purple police to his hand with a small spoon, "And this one," the boy said, indicating a small blue jar holding, as far as Sirius could tell, only air, "Will prevent any infections." Using a little eyedropper, Snape sucked up what Sirius now realized was a clear liquid, and added it to the top of the small mountain of potions in his hand.

Sirius flinched when Snape began to rub the goo into his back, but, within seconds, he felt his back reknit, the tender skin healing as good as new.

Snape smiled at him, and Sirius stared in shock. 'Well, I'll be damned.' He thought, 'The slimy bastard is good for something.'

Snape was sealing the jars when he heard it, heavy footsteps approaching from the direction they had come from. 'You fuckin' little bastard!' an angry male voice called, 'Where'd you slip off ta?'

Snape paled and with a wave of his wand the jars vanished. "Run, pup," He told Sirius in an urgent whisper before he stood and began to walk towards the voice.

"Father," Snape called into the darkness, "I'm here."

"Fuckin' little bas'terd," the man snarled as he came into sight, "Fuckin' thinkin' 'bout runnin' 'way, were ya?"

"No, Sir," Snape said calmly, his back tense as the man stumbled closer to him, clearly drunk. "I was just out for a walk when I found an injured dog."

"Shut th' fuck up," the man said, backhanding Snape in the mouth before spitting on him, "Lil' lyin' bas'terd. Just like your mo'ter, lyin' bitch."

Snape's eyes flared, "Don't speak about her like that!"

The man hit him again, knocking him to the ground, "Don' you fuckin' speak ta me like that, ya little fuck."

Sirius stared in shock at what he was seeing; Snape, the boy who could hold his own against all four of the Marauders at once, was being beaten by a drunken muggle man in the middle of the street.

"I'm sorry, father," Snape said, gritting his teeth as a foot connected with his stomach.

"I ain't yer fuckin' father, ya freak. Shit like you don't have a father!" the man shouted down at the boy, causing several nearby lights to flicker on.

"My apologies, Tobias," Snape said coolly, rising from the ground to point back down the street, "if you don't want the other muggles involved, Sir, you might want to continue abusing me in the safety of your home?"

Sirius felt his face contort at the bitter resentment in the words, but, more than anything, the well-rehearsed quality of it, which spoke of other late night beatings.

Tobias hit Snape again before pulling the teen roughly down the street, promising punishments once behind closed doors.

Snape just closed his eyes and walked along, the softness that his face had held when he had doctored Sirius gone beneath the sour expression that so often prompted the attention of the Marauders.

Following them to Snape's house, he saw that same pale glimmer at the window before it disappeared. Moments later a woman who was the mirror of Snape was opening the front door, ushering them in.

The door slammed with finality that chilled Sirius to the bone. For an hour Sirius stood outside, hidden in the brambles, waiting for some sign of life from the house, but receiving none.

With a last look up at the door, Sirius called on Kreatcher, who took his arm and apparated him into his room before leaving the boy to sulk with only his new found knowledge for company.

Shaking his body, Sirius lay down on his bed, feeling the stabbing pain of fresh wounds more now than he had before Snape had healed them, knowing that the price of his health was the other boys'.

Rolling over onto his stomach, Sirius let his eyes fall closed, though sleep would not visit him that night.

BANDON-MAKES-AN-END


	2. Protect me form what you want

Hey! In this chapter, I have British slang. I know 'How do you know anything about British slang, Abandon? Aren't you an American?' Yeah, I am, but I have a lot of British friends with potty mouths. This is some of what I've learned so far, and what will be needed for this chapter.

Sofa Surf: Rely on the generosity of friends to maintain a place of shelter, esp. on a sofa.

Shirt Lifter: Homosexual man, esp. one that goes for younger men.

Ta: Thank You, abb.

Skin: Skin head. Generally a racist who shaves their head and tattoos a swastika on it.

Bugger: Tame version of 'fuck,' Has come to mean 'jeez' or to express frustration. Ex: Bugger it all! Oh, Bugger! This term is not especially perverse, and is a large part of common language.

Bugger Hole: Butt hole. Used thus Bugger takes on the meaning of 'butt,' but it is not explicably so.

Sod: Profane. Much like the American use of the word 'fuck.' In this instance it takes on the meaning of 'Leave me alone' or 'mind your own business.'

Safe as houses: As safe as possible. Not a perverse saying.

Slip (His/Their) length (In/On/Near/For) (Me/Us/Them/She/He): To penetrate someone, most esp. with a penis. Can be seen as 'Slip (someone) a length' though the above form is the correct one for this context.

12:30 A.M.

Sirius had waited for days, but Snape hadn't come out of the house since that night. There was nothing but a glimmer of pale flesh at the window to betray any sign of life. No one went into the house, and nothing came out, not even chimney smoke.

Sirius gave a shudder as he glanced at the red tinted moon. The air was heavy with fog and the smell of filthy water was overwhelming.

Lying down on his back, he looked at the roof of Snape's house, wondering where the boy slept, where he ate, where he was at that moment.

The front door opened and Sirius shot up, expecting the other boy, but feeling disappointed when he saw that it was only his parents, bundled up in layers of thin coats to combat the chilly mist that seemed to haunt this gloomy place. At least it hadn't rained yet, as English summers were want to do.

After the Snape's had left, the woman walking towards the bridge and the man heading down a nearby street, Sirius knew that the Snape he was looking for would come out soon.

12:47 A.M.

Sirius gnawed his thumb nail, staring up at the house in anticipation. He had thought that the other boy would leave soon after his parents had, but almost twenty minutes later nothing had stirred. Crouching down in his dog form he rested his head on a plank of wood he had found earlier. The other boy should have come out by now if was there. Sirius had seen the desperation for freedom last night; he knew that such a feeling couldn't be denied.

12:52 A.M

Pacing behind the brambles, Sirius finally heard what he had been waiting for; a squeak from an unoiled back door.

Stepping into the street, Sirius searched for the boy, trying to separate shadows into the lanky figure he was looking for.

Movement caught his eye. There, against the house, stood Severus Snape. Bracing himself against the termite damaged wood, the other boy looked up and down the street. Sirius bounded up to him, not caring that the other boy might be less than receptive after what had happened the last time they had been together.

Sirius skid to a stop as he saw Snape up close, a small gasp escaping his canine jowls. The boy who had been healthy yesterday looked like shit; deep purple stains resided around his eyes, his face was the sickly pale of the dead, and around his throat handprints were clearly visible.

Snape looked at Sirius' dog form and smiled through the pain, "Hey, boy." He said softly, placing his hand down for Sirius to smell. "You back with more wounds?" Sirius sniffed the other boy's hand, repulsed to find the copper tinge of blood there.

"I know," Snape said nonchalantly, "I smell like metal. And probably look like hell, but I'm all good."

Sirius whined, knowing that the boy couldn't be 'all good' with so many obvious injuries.

"No, really," Snape said bravely, "This is my last day here, anyways. After tonight, I get to hang out with some friends till I go to school." Snape smiled, petting Sirius' head as he moved into the street, staggering a bit but remaining upright, "You'd like it there, I think. It's nice, most of the time. You get three meals a day, plus snacks if you can charm the house elves. You can bathe as much as you want and no one tells you to stop wasting water. It's heaven, really."

Sirius felt his ears droop, ashamed for the first time that he had made Snape's life hell at Hogwarts.

"It's so different from the outside world," Snape continued, walking down the street, "there aren't any muggles or anything, so Tobias can't come anywhere near it, and mom never does, even if she could. It's the best place in the world, pup."

Snape frowned down at Sirius, "I really should come up with something to call you, if you're gonna hang around me. I've never really been good at naming things, though." Snape paused and bent down to pick up a wrapper that happened to be laying there. "Let's see," Snape said, reading the package, "We can call you peanut?"

Sirius gave him a look and the boy laughed, picking up the pace as a car rounded the corner, "Or nugget? Perhaps you'd like to be called chocolate? Or maybe snicker?"

At each name, Sirius had given a small growl, wanting to be called something cool.

Snape sighed, "Well, then, you come up with something."

Sirius ran ahead to a dumpster he had passed yesterday, grabbing out a bag of trash before pawing through it.

"You think you're going to find something to be called in there?" Snape asked with a smile, "I still say that you should be called peanut. It's a good name, for a dog."

Sirius looked up to give the boy a glare before tearing the contents of the bag apart, looking for something cooler to be called than peanut.

"We could call you Grim." Snape said at last, looking up at the stars that were barely visible through the clouds. "It's a black dog that's supposed to be a bad omen. I think it might be cool enough for you, huh?"

Sirius barked, satisfied with the name.

"Grim, then." Snape said, smiling.

Sirius barked again and ran around the boy, nudging him in the side as he started moving again. "Come on," Snape said, "We have to get going if we want to get there on time."

Sirius tilted his head to the side as he looked up at the boy.

"It's a cool place," Snape said, nodding importantly, "It's full of people like me, who don't want to be where they're supposed to."

Sirius shook his head but walked beside the boy in silence.

2:12 A.M.

It had taken them longer than Sirius had thought it would to reach Snape's destination, but when they did Sirius was shocked. They were in an abandoned mill district, surrounded by broken down houses and dilapidated factory buildings.

Sirius whimpered as he looked around, unsure about his surroundings.

"It's okay," Snape said softly, "Everything's fine. This is what I was talking about. Here, you're probably safer than you would be in an actual clubbing district."

Sirius looked at Snape confusedly, not seeing where a club could fit in here.

"It's a secret place," Snape said, "It's not protected by magic, but the cops never bother coming here to check. A few simple charms to muffle the music, and no one knows a damned thing. There are rules here, ones that protect the people. Gangs of street urchins run these parts, make their own communities."

Sirius cocked his head to the side, wondering what a street urchin was.

"We all come here whenever we can. Some of us just dance, others sing. Since we're all homeless, no one ever really brings anything to eat or drink, but the pimps come around sometimes and offer food for a good fuck."

Sirius yipped, astounded that the prim boy he saw at school would use that word. In fact, all of this seemed out of character for Snape. The boy didn't seem like the type to sneak away from home in the middle the night to go to an illegal party in an abandoned factory, much less talk about prostitution so bluntly.

Snape laughed at Sirius' confused head tilt, "They never really bother me, though, since the leader of Bugger* likes me." Snape stopped walking when they came level to a particularly creepy building, one that looked like it had at one time been a slaughter house. "This is it, Grim. The Bugger's like to keep things interesting. Mayhem said that the entrance would be somewhere. . ." Snape crab walked through a tight alley between the slaughter house and another building.

As Sirius got closer to the wall, he saw that the holes were actually only spray-painted boards that had been placed along the wall, concealing a well-kept, solid wall. Sirius stopped to stare at it, wondering why anyone would want to make a place look more run down than it was.

"We have to hide," Snape shrugged, "If the cops do come, they'll head to the sturdiest buildings, the ones where the homeless like to sleep. It was me and Mayhem that came up with the idea. It irritated the Bones to no end that our hideouts never got searched."

Sirius continued walking, following the slim boy to a cellar door. Snape knocked twice, making some clucking sounds low in his throat.

"'Oo's d'ere?" a gruff voice demanded in a thick cockney accent.

"Sod* off, Maverick, open the door already. What'd you do if a cop happened by, hm? Don't look right, kid trying to get into a broken down bugger hole*, does it?" Snape drawled in his most condescending voice.

"Lil' Crow havin' a bad nigh' I sees." A burly man said as he flung open the doors, motioning Snape into the cellar, where three other men stood, all with weapons in their hands.

Snape sighed, "Worst night of my life, actually. How's everything, Maverick?"

"Safe as houses*," Maverick replied, eying Sirius, "Got yerself a new friend, there?"

Snape nodded, "This is Grim. He's a stray I'm taking care of right now. His owner got him good couple nights ago."

Maverick nodded, "You put 'em righ'? Wit them goo's you always sell?"

Snape nodded, "The welts were pretty bad, but he seems to be doing better today. I think he likes me, or something. He followed me all the way here from my house."

Maverick nodded, "That's alrigh' then. 'M Sure Mayhem won' mind. Oh, yeah," The man passed Snape an envelope, "Ta* for that goo you gave me las' week. Made 'em bumps go down nice."

Snape smiled at the man, "No problem, Mav. Least you keep the shirt lifters* off me when I'm here."

"Speakin' of 'em. Watch out fer Vick. 'Eard 'e want'd yer arse." Maverick replied, giving Snape a long look.

Snape sighed, "He only wants me 'cause he knows he can't have me, but I'll keep myself straight. I don't need someone trying to slip their length* in me when I don't pay attention."

Maverick grunted as he bolted the door shut, "Jus' make sure yer pooch bites 'em if 'e touches you, kid. Yer a pain in the ass, but yer good ta keep 'round."

Snape laughed, "Sod off, Mav. I can take care of myself."

Sirius knew the truth of that. It was rare that the marauders got the upper hand on the Slytherin in a fair match.

"Yeah, Kid," Maverick replied with a crooked grin, "I 'member wha' 'appened that one time you go' grabbed by that one skin*. Nearly put him in the track*, you did."

Snape grinned, "Still don't think he'll come back, no matter what Mayhem wants."

Maverick groaned, "I still 'aven't 'heard the end of that. Wants a piece of 'em didn't 'e?"

Snape shrugged, "I don't pretend to understand the way he think; I just go with it."

Maverick grunted, "You better get on up, kid. They might be wanting a bit of change up there."

Snape nodded and slipped the envelope into his pocket, rushing up a set of stairs to his right. Entering the floor above, Snape and Sirius were assaulted by thin splats of paint.

"Where you been, sweetie?" A woman asked, as she painted the tops of Snape's cheek bones with the florescent goo as another ran some through his greasy hair and down his back.

Snape shrugged as she tenderly touched the bruises under his eyes, "Family shit."

The woman sighed, "You know you could always sofa surf* around here, Crow. Enough people like you for it."

"I don't like taking advantage. I get what I need here; I don't want to mess it up."

"No matter what you did, I don't think Mayhem would let anyone kick you out. You know he don't let people he owes get hurt in his territory. You saved his life, kid."

"I know, but he's making mine a little more bearable." Snape sighed, "Besides, I only have to be there for the first week of the summer, then I get to go somewhere else."

The woman clucked her tongue at him, "Whatever you say. Make sure to talk to Mayhem before you leave, though."

"Why?" Snape asked warily, "There hasn't been a problem, has there?"

"Nothing like that," the woman responded, "He just wants to see you off."

Snape shrugged, though he didn't look totally convinced. "Sure."

The woman smiled and pinched the cheek that was the least bruised, "That's a good boy. Go on, then."

Snape smiled and walked on, heading towards a flap of clear plastic that was hanging from a door way. "Careful, Grim," Snape whispered, "It's about to get really loud."

Snape parted the curtain and ushered Sirius inside before closing it. As soon as the way was shut again, noise erupted all around them; music blared from huge speakers, people shouted at each other, and the whirring of an ancient cooling unit could be heard.

But it was the dancers that drew Sirius' attention. Sirius stared at them openmouthed; they were beautiful. Splashed with the same neon paint that Snape wore, the flash of flood lights cast them in an ethereal highlight. Though each dancer mover separately, distinctly, one would be wrong to assume that they were anything but a single being.

"Disgusting, isn't it?" Snape snarled near Sirius' ear. "Vermin rutting about in filth."

Sirius started at the bitterness, but it was the wild abandon in the other boy's eyes that was startling. Looking back at the dancers, Sirius realized that they had lost their glory; no longer were they angels, as they had been only a moment ago. Now they were a morbid collection of needy faces and groping hands.

"They come here with empty stomachs and heavy hearts." Snape continued, "An outsider would call this 'youthful expression' but we call it 'desperation.'" Snape paused as he looked out over the crowd again, "And I fucking live for it."

Sirius took a step back, instinctively frightened by the look in Snape's eyes as the other boy descended the nearby stairs, disappearing into the throng. Sirius let loose a breath he hadn't knowingly been holding as he caught sight of Snape again.

As the slim boy moved through the crowd, their rhythm changed, losing its fevered pace in the wake of a true cohesion. Sirius watched as Snape made his way steadily towards the stage, altering all those who ventured too close. Climbing upon the stage, Snape grabbed the microphone, and silence fell.

"Are you ready?" Snape screamed into the mic, causing the people below him to scream, "I said 'Are you ready?'"

Sirius let loose a whine as the room erupted, causing his delicate ears to ring.

"That's more like it!" Snape said, walking around the stage as he told the band members something that the audience couldn't hear. "Tonight," Snape finally said, returning to the front of the stage, "We're gonna start off with a bit of American for you." Someone near the back of the mass jeered, but everyone else was silent, almost entranced as Snape began to sing; "Let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the FLOOOOOOORRRRRR- ah!"

The bass actually sent Sirius reeling, but even more than that was the sheer amount of movement. Where before it had been so still, now everything was in motion, pulsing and swaying in time with the harsh beat of the song. Several verses in, Sirius noticed what it was that was making the skin on the back of his neck bubble with unease; magic. It flowed around him, entrancing his senses. Frowning, he sat back, watching the muggles around him as they followed the unspoken directions as the songs merged together and time ceased to matter. Their eyes were blank, unseeing in the strobe lights. Looking closer, he noticed slight smiles upon each of their faces, contentment shining through.

Sirius couldn't have told you how long he sat and stared at them. Minutes, hours, or years might have passed by in a flurry of flesh, but it was of no consequence to him. To anyone. Snape sang, the muggles danced, and Sirius watched it all, both in and out of his body.

Everything was perfect until seven words shattered the illusion; "Stop, in the name of the law!"

Anyways, I hope you liked this! Have a lovely day! And Ta to all of you who reviewed!

(That's a joke; I know no one's reviewed this. Don't rub it in.)


	3. Find me in A Forgotten Memory

Mayhem. The only word to describe a mass of once cohesive bodies shattering into a thousand directions.

Sirius stood frozen as everything became chaos; cops poured in from nowhere and dancers scrambled toward exits. Screams were deafening as black clad bodies pounced on scared teens, beating those who tried to fight their way out with batons.

"The EXITS!" Snape shouted through the microphone, "Remember the EXITS!" And then he was gone, running behind a curtain as more police rushed into the room, dragging struggling people out into the alleyways.

Sirius panicked as a new wave of officers came through the door he was still standing by. Turning to growl at them, he found the barrel of a gun aimed at him. As time slowed and Sirius watched that finger pull the trigger, Sirius felt magic, more powerful than any he had ever thought possible, wash over him.

After several still seconds, Sirius risked looking up, noticing, for the first time, that it wasn't just his near death experience that had frozen him. Everything was slowed to an impossible level; as he turned, he caught sight of faces contorting in fear at the same rate as he was striding between bodies.

"Fucking goddamn it!" A voice to his right shouted, "Of all the stupid, inconceivable, hair-brained-"

Looking towards the noise, Sirius noticed a beautiful girl. With long red hair and eyes as black as Snape's, she was magnificent.

"Navey!" Snape said, running up to the girl and embracing her, "I though you wouldn't come."

The girl, Navey, rolled her eyes, "As if, kid." She said, smiling slightly despite the stern tone of her voice, "I could never leave you in a rough situation."

Snape smiled blindingly at her, "Thanks, Navey." Turning back to the sluggish occupants of the room, Snape frowned, "But how did they find us? I put up all of the necessary spells and protection."

Navey shrugged, "Someone told them how to get in."

Snape shook his head with a sigh, "Mayhem hates to be moving around like this. Remember the last time someone let it slip?"

Navey shuddered, though her smile only grew wider, "I never did find out if that kid learned to walk again."

Snape laugher, hugging her again, "I've missed you, Navey."

Navey nodded, "I'm sorry, little one. I have been away for far longer than I had anticipated."

Snape cringed, but he shrugged, "It's alright. I've been okay on my own." Looking back at his audience, Snape motioned to them, "We need to get as many of them as we can out of here. A lot of them can't go back to jail. Even more of them can't go back to their guardians."

Navey nodded, "I'll create a diversion. When I unfreeze them break the cuffs and I'll open up the portals. Make sure that they head to them."

Snape nodded, running back onto the stage and grabbing the microphone while Navey walked between the bodies, touching each of the dancers as she went. Giving Snape a thumbs up, she waved her hand, releasing everyone from their magically induced paralysis.

Sirius yelped as the gun that had been aimed at him went off and the noise returned. Nobody seemed to notice that anything had happened, but, as planned, Snape began to yell, "The EXITS! Run for the exits while you can!"

And true enough, all of the people who had been cuffed were free again, running to the corners of the room, huddling there for seconds before they disappeared.

Sirius yelped as a booted foot collided with his side; looking up, he stared into the eyes of a heavy set police man. "Fucking bastards!" The man bellowed at several passing kids, knocking them on their heads with his baton, "Think you can get away this time you rats?"

Sirius growled at him, leaping at his face and biting his arm.

"Wha-?" The Cop gasped, clutching his bleeding arm while he stared down at Sirius.

"Grim?" Snape called out over the crowd, "Grim, come on!"

Sirius took one last bite out of the fat man's arm before running to the boy, skidding to a halt as Snape wrapped one hand securely in his fur, "This might feel weird, boy."

Just as the ground below them was turning mist, a shot rang out, followed closely by a nearby gasp and several screams.

Sirius tried to move, to help the boy attached to him, but the port key was already pulling them away.

For several seconds color and darkness flash before Sirius' eyes before they landed in some type of park. As both Boy and dog fell to the ground, Navey appeared, no noise ushering in her arrival.

"Severus!" She screamed, bending over the bleeding boy, "What the fuck happened?"

"I got shot," Snape said in his most bland voice.

Navey smacked him upside the head as she tried to take off his shirt.

"No," Snape said, fighting her, "I'm alright, Navey."

"No you're not," Navey hissed, struggling with the boy, "You just got shot in the stomach. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Snape looked away, pushing himself up though he cried out in pain, "I just can't-"

"Can't what?" Navey interrupted, "Can't let me save your life?"

Snape bit his lip, eyes troubled, "I can't tell you, Navey. I just can't."

Navey looked like she wanted to say something, but she stopped herself, taking in the hunched shoulders and darkly circled eyes of the boy before her, "Jesus," She moaned, "They hurt you." It wasn't a question. She stared at him with sorrow in her eyes.

Snape flinched, but nodded, "I couldn't stop it. I-I just, I'm not _strong_ enough, I'm not-"

"You're the strongest person I've ever met, Severus." Navey interrupted.

"I'm not-" Snape tried to say, but Navey placed her hand over his mouth.

"You are everything and more." She said softly, caressing his cheek with her thumb, "I know you can't believe me right now, but you are."

Snape smiled softly, shyly, "I don't deserve-"

"You deserve," Navey said brashly, "Everything and more." Stroking his cheek again, she reached her other hand to the bottom of Snape's shirt, lifting the edge gingerly, "I need you to trust me, okay?"

She spoke softly, calmly, giving Snape time to anticipate her movements, "It's going to be alright, okay?"

Snape nodded, clenching his eyes tightly closed, "I trust you, Navey," He said in a frightened whisper, "But I'm so scared."

Sirius started as he realized that the boy was talking about more than just his most recent wound. In the darkness of the windy night, Severus Snape, the boy who couldn't be bested, bullied, or otherwise intimidated, was admitting that he was scared.

"It's okay to be scared, baby," Navey said, "It's alright to be tired." Taking her other hand from Snape's face, she rolled up the fabric of the shirt, helping the boy pull it over his head.

"I'm going to make some light, okay?" She asked, still moving in that same slow, methodical way.

Snape nodded, biting his lip.

Cupping her hands before her, Navey made a pool of light that, when she dropped her hands out from under it, moved to the side, allowing Navey to concentrate on the boy in front of her.

Sirius had been so caught up in the effortless way she had created something that should take hours, he hadn't noticed that what he had thought was a dark colored undershirt was actually something that caused bile to rise in his throat.

Where pale skin should have shone it the light, all that could be seen was a mass of purple bruises and angry red wounds slashed across an emaciated form.

"Oh, gods," Navey gasped, bending double to avoid being sick all over Snape.

Snape looked away, a bitter smile falling across his face, "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Laughing mirthlessly, he touched a particularly deep gash that lay low on his abdomen, "His best work yet."

Navey looked away, "I'm so sorry, Severus." She took a deep breath, "I can't tell you how sorry I am."

Snape sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair, "It's not your fault, Navey. I'm the one that can't defend myself."

Navey's hand came up and struck Snape's face, her face an expressionless mask.

Snape backed away, terror clear in his eyes and he covered his reddening cheek. "Navey?" He chocked out, betrayal making his voice crack.

Navey walked closer, her hands shaking, "Did you deserve that, Severus?" She asked softly, "Does being unable to stop an attack make you bear the guilt?"

Snape looked away, "For normal people, it doesn't, but you know what I am."

Sirius whined, circling the boy. He didn't know why, but such self-hate bothered him.

Snape looked down at the dog, "It's okay, Grim," He said softly, "I'm not mad at you."

Sirius shook his head as he placed his nose gently against the same gash that Snape had a moment ago, causing the boy to wince.

"No matter what that man tells you, Sev," Navey said calmly, walking forward, "You aren't something evil. You're special, no doubt, but not the kind of different that he thinks you are."

Snape smiled sadly, "And I wish I could believe that I wasn't the things that he says. I wish that I wasn't the piece of trash that I am. I can't tell you how much I wish that." Snape's voice broke as he sat on a nearby swing, "He doesn't even have to say it; I already knew. From the day I was born I've been nothing but a mistake, an abomination." Sighing, Severus rubbed his arms, "Nothing could love something as disgusting as me."

Navey cringed as though she had been hit, but she didn't say anything, she just walked behind the boy, placing a hand on his back.

As Navey began to hum, Snape sang. It was soft and sad, but beautifully nostalgic, "'If only, if only,'" He started, looking up at the stars, "The wood pecker sighed, 'the bark on the trees was as soft as the skies.'"

Navey smiled, kissing the top of Snape's head as she began to move her hands in small, comforting circles, "The wolf waits below," She continued, glancing at Sirius, "Hungry and lonely."

Snape sighed deeply as a glow emitted from his ruined form, "He cries to the moon," A sharp gasp broke him off as the light faded, revealing healed flesh.

Navey ran her hand slowed down the scars lacing the young man's back. Letting a tear roll down her cheek, she whispered out, "'If only, if only.'"

Sirius watched in wonder as Navey hugged the boy from behind, shielding him from the chill wind.

Cocking his head to the side, Sirius settled at Snape's dangling feet. It was odd, how comfortable he was with the boy when he was in his dog form. It was such a parallel to their normal feelings that it made him shiver.

Looking up, he noticed Navey's eyes on him, boring into him. 'I know who you are.' Her voice hissed inside his head, causing his to flinch.

Looking closer at the girl, Sirius saw, not only curiosity, but hate in her gaze. 'I know what you did to him,' She continued, 'I know what you will do to him.'

Sirius waited for her to say more, but she didn't. Instead, she released Snape, summoning a new shirt out of the air for him to put on. "We have to be going, Severus," She said softly, gesturing to the lightening sky, "My enemy hastens my departure."

Snape nodded, giving his hand pulling the shirt over his thin frame, "Where are we going, Navey?" He asked anxiously, looking off to the horizon, where Sirius noticed the same smoking tower that he had on the first night he had gone to Snape's house.

Navey understood his unspoken question, "I won't send you back there, Baby." She said softly, "Not ever again." Sirius might have missed it had he not been looking, but blood lust shone in her eyes as she took in the smoking tower.

Snape nodded, willing to go anywhere but there.

"Take my hand, my love," Navey said, "I'll take care of everything else."

Snape nodded, a small smile breaking out on his face. As he was reaching out, he remembered Sirius, holding out a hand to him, "Do you want to come?" He asked the dog, who looked cautiously at Navey, whose eyes had snapped fire.

"He has a home, Severus," she said kindly, though the hate in her eyes was anything but, "He needs to be getting back before his family misses him."

Snape frowned, "We can't let him go back if he's going to be hurt, though!"

Navey gave Snape a proud smile, "Don't worry, Sev. You know that I wouldn't send him somewhere he'd be hurt."

Snape nodded, but sadness shone in his eyes as he grabbed Navey's hand.

Sirius whimpered as the boy disappeared, leaving just him and the strange girl in the park.

Letting the smile fall from her face, Navey spoke in a threatening whisper, "You are never to come to him again, filth." Bending down to place her hand on Sirius' back, she whispered, "Consider this your only warning." And then he was flashing through space and time, back to the night when he had decided to go to Snape's house.

Falling into his battered boy, Sirius let out a startled gasp, feeling the pull of open wounds acutely before he was moving again. For several seconds he didn't know what was happening, until, with a final, pain filled decent, he landed on top of a very familiar person.

"Get off!" James Potter yelled whoever had tackled him.

"Prongs!" Sirius gasped, jumping off of his friend, "What are you doing?"

James frowned as he rolled over, taking in his best friend, "What am I doing here?" He asked, "This is my house, you freak! What are you doing here?"

Sirius opened his mouth to give a smart remark, but closed it, confusion pinching his face, "I- I don't know." He said, clutching his aching head, "How did I get here?"

James got off of the floor, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder, causing the other boy to cry out as pain laced through his body.

"What happened?" A voice called from down the hall, ushering in a plump woman in her late sixties.

"Siri?" She asked, looking form one boy to the other, "When did you get here?"

James sighed, messing with his hair, "He just dropped in," He said blandly.

Sirius frowned at his friend, though he didn't say anything.

"Oh," Edith Potter said, confused but used to the other boy coming over without notice, "Did you tell your parents that you were coming, Siri?"

Sirius winced, "We got into a fight, actually," Rotating his shoulders, Sirius bit his lip, "I don't really remember much after that."

Frowning, Edith reached out, "Is something wrong with your back, dear?" Placing her hand gently between Sirius' shoulder blades, she drew it back as if burned when Sirius let out a sharp gasp, flinching away from the touch.

Drawing her wand, she pointed it at the boy's thin form, muttering a quick detection spell. Covering her mouth with a trembling hand, she called for her husband to bring their personal healer.

James glances frantically between his friend and his mother, hoping that someone would tell him what was going on, "What happened?" He asked desperately.

"Sirius is going to be staying with us for a while, James," Edith Potter said calmly, gently ushering both her son to his room while guiding Sirius down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"What happened, Sirius?" She asked him quietly, rubbing his arms soothingly.

Sirius closed his eyes, blurred images flashing through his mind, "I-I don't remember." He whispered.

Edith looked skeptical, but nodded, content to wait.

Hours later, long after James had fallen asleep, Sirius lay in the spare bed that was always kept in the teen's room. As he stared at the ceiling, Sirius couldn't help but think that something had happened to him, something more that the fight he had had with his parents.

Just as dawn broke over the French city they were staying in, Sirius could have sworn that he heard a soft melody, easing his troubled mind, wiping it clean of darkly troubled eyes and entrancing songs.

Closing his eyes, Sirius allowed himself to forget that anything but what he would remember clearly had happened to him. Allowed himself to forget abandoned factories and drunken muggles. As a memory of soft hands caressing him faded to nothingness, Sirius gave a soft, sad whimper.

And though he didn't know it, another boy did the same.


	4. Always alone, even in a crowd

******Attention!****Att_ent_ion!**** Attention!**** Att_enti_on!****Attention!**** Att_ent_ion!**

I edited this story, so it will mark it as a update. In case I make another chapter, and upload it on the same time mark, I hope you all have the sense t check every once in a while.

I won't be able to update for a while. (After the next chapter)

I have My SAT and ACT and my THEA coming up in march, so I have to go to the review. And I have to concentrate on my clubs. . . So I won't have much time to write. I'll still try, though, whenever I can. ;}

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Hey! It's Abandon here typing up a new chapter just for y'all (And on my much needed day off too!) so be happy! ;}

Or not, don't care. ; /

I put some of the 6th book in here. Please read it, since I modified it a bit (Left out some, put in some.)

I put it in my story because my friend Yolanda was reading the rough of this and she asked 'Why the hell and they in the Hospital? And What happened Bill?"

Apparently, she had never read the book. . . .

So, in case others haven't read the book, I put the important part here!

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I WILL be changing the pairing, either for ever, or just till I come up with a way to work out the pairings.

I do hope you all stick with me. I want you to see how this ends up. ;}

And, even though I tell my Math teacher not to smack me up-side the head, he does it anyways. ;'O

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series and/or any characters there of.

Rowling has a cool accent, I sound like gutter shite, do I have to say more? ;]

Disclaimer (2) : I do not own any products that are mentioned in this chapter and/or any chapters previously created/to be created later.

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(The following is a modified excerpt from J.K. Rowling book 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince')

"Snape killed Dumbledore," said Harry.

Professor McGonagall stared at him for a moment, then swayed alarmingly; Madam Pomfrey, who seemed to have pulled herself together, ran forward, conjuring a chair form thin air, which she pushed under McGonagall.

"Snape." repeated McGonagal faintly, falling into the chair. "We all wondered. . . but he trusted. . . always . . . SNAPE. . . I can't believe it. . . ."

"Snape was a highly accomplished Occlumens," said Lupin, his voice uncharacteristically harsh. "We always knew that."

"But Dumbledore swore he was on our side!" Whispered Tonks. I always thought that Dumbledore must know something about Snape that we didn't . . . ."

"He always hinted that he had an ironclad reason for trusting Snape," muttered McGonagall, now dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a tartan edged handkerchief. "I mean . . .with Snape's history . . . of course people were bound to wonder. . . but Dumbledore told me explicitly that Snape's repentance was absolutely genuine. . . Wouldn't hear a word against him!"

"I'd love to know what Snape told him to convince him," Said Tonks.

"I know," Harry said, and they all turned to look at him. "Snape passed the information that made Voldemort hunt down my Mum and Dad. Then Snape told Dumbledore he hadn't realized what he was doing, he was really sorry he'd done it, sorry that they were dead."

They all stared at him.

"And Dumbledore believed that?" said Lupin incredulously. "Dumbledore had believed Snape was sorry James was dead? Snape HATED James. . . ."

"And he didn't think my mother was worth a damn either," said Harry, "because she was Muggle-born . . . . 'Mudblood,' he called her. . . . "

Nobody asked how Harry knew this. All of them seemed to be lost in horrified shock, trying to digest the monstrous truth of what had happened.

This is all my fault," said Professor McGonagall suddenly. She looked disoriented, twisting her wet handkerchief in her hands. "My fault. I sent Filius to fetch Snape tonight, I actually sent for him to come and help us! If I hadn't alerted Snape to what was going on, he might never have joined forces with the Death Eaters. I don't think he knew before Filius told him, I don't think he knew that they were coming."

"It isn't your fault Minerva," said Lupin firmly. "We all wanted more help, we were glad to think Snape was on his way. . . "

"How did they even get in? We had everything covered, every entrance, every secret passage way, EVERYTHING. There was no way for them to get in, but they did it somehow." Madam Pomfrey said.

"I know," said Harry, and he explained briefly about the pair of Vanishing Cabinets and the magical pathway they formed. "So they got in through the Room of Requirement."

Almost against his will, he glanced from Ron to Hermione, both of whom looked devastated.

"I messed up, Harry, " Said Ron bleakly. "We did like you told us; We checked the Marauder's Map and we couldn't see Malfoy on it, so we thought he must be in the Room of Requirement, so me, Ginny, and Neville went to keep watch on it. . . . but Malfoy got past us."

"He came out of the room about an hour after we started keeping watch," said Ginny. "He was in his own, clutching that awful shriveled arm -- "

"His Hand of Glory," said Ron. "Gives light only tot he holder, remember?"

"Anyway," Ginny went on, "he must have been checking whether the coast was clear to let the Death Eaters out, because the moment he saw us he threw something into the air and it all went pitch-black --"

"-- Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder," said Ron bitterly. "Fred and George's. I'm going to be having a word with them about who they let buy their products"

"So if Ron was watching the Room of Requirement with Ginny and Neville," said Harry, turning to Hermione, "were you--?"

"Outside Snape's office, yes," whispered Hermione, her eyes sparkling with tears," with Luna. We hung around for ages outside it and nothing happened. . . We didn't know what was going on upstairs, Ron had taken the Map. . . . It was nearly midnight when Professor Flitwick came sprinting down into the dungeons. He was shouting about Death Eaters in the castle, I don't think he really registered that Luna and I were there at all, he just burst his way into Snape's office and we heard him saying that Snape had to go back with him and help and then we heard a loud thump and Snape came hurtling out of his room and he saw us and - and-"

"What?" harry urged her.

"I was so stupid, Harry!" said Hermione in a high-pitched whisper. "He said that Professor Flitwick had collapsed and that we should go and take care of him while he- while he went to help fight the Death eaters-" She covered her face in shame and continued to talk through her fingers, so that her voice was muffled. "We went into his office to see if we could help Professor Flitwick and found him on the floor. . . and oh, it's so obvious now, Snape must have Stupefied Flitwick, but we didn't realize, Harry, we didn't realize, we just let Snape go!"

"It's not you fault," Lupin said firmly. "Hermione, had you not obeyed Snape and got out of the way, he probably would have killed you and Luna."

Before anyone could comment, the doors of the hospital wing burst open, making them all jump: Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were striding up the ward, Fleur just behind them, her beautiful face terrified.

"Molly - Arthur - " said Professor McGonagall, jumping up and hurrying to greet them. "I am so sorry -"

"Bill," Mrs. Weasley said, darting past McGonagall as she caught sight of Bill's mangled face. "Oh, BILL!"

Lupin and Tonks had gotten up hastily and retreated so that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could get nearer the bed. Mrs. Weasley bent over her son and pressed her lips to his bloody forehead.

"You said Greyback attacked him?" Mr. Weasley asked Professor McGonagall distractedly. "But he hadn't transformed? So what does that mean? What will happen to Bill?"

"We don't know yet," said Professor McGonagall, looking helplessly at Lupin.

"There will probably be some contamination, Arthur," said Lupin. "It is an odd case, possible unique. . . . We don't know what his behavior might be like when he awakens. . . . "

Mrs. Weasley took the nasty-smelling ointment from Madam Pomfrey and Began dabbing at Bill's wounds.

"And Dumbledore. . . ." Said Mr. Weasley. "Minerva, is it true. . . . Is he really. . . . ?"

As McGonagall nodded, Harry felt Ginny move beside him and looked at her. Her slightly narrowed eyes were fixed on Fleur, who was gazing down at Bill with a frozen expression on her face.

"Dumbledore gone," whispered Mr. Weasley, but Mrs. Weasley had eyes only for her eldest son; she began to sob, tears falling onto Bill's mutilated face.

"Of course, it doesn't matter what he looks like. . . .It's not r-really important. . . . but he was a very handsome little b-boy. . . .always very handsome. . . .and he was g-going to be married!"

"And what do you mean by zat?" said Fleur suddenly and loudly. "What do you mean,' 'e was _going_ to be married.'

Mrs. Weasley raised her tear-stained face, looking startled. "Well - only that - "

"You theenk Bill will not wish to marry me anymore?" demanded Fleur. "You theenk, because of these bites he will not love me?"

"No, that's not what I - "

"Because 'e will!" said Fleur, drawing herself up to her full height and throwing back her long mane of silver hair. "It would take more zan a werewolf to stop Bill loving me!"

"Well, yes, I'm sure," said Mrs. Weasley, "but I thought perhaps - given how - how he - "

"You thought I would not weesh to marry him? Or per'aps. you hoped?" said Fleur, her nostrils flaring. "What do I care how he looks? I am good looking enough for both of us, I theenk! All these scars show is zat my husband is brave! And I shall do zat!" she added fiercely, pushing Mrs. Weasley aside and snatching the ointment from her.

Mrs. Weasley fell back against her husband and watched Fleur mopping up Bill's wounds with a most curious expression upon her face. Nobody said anything; Harry did not dare move. Like everybody else, he was waiting for the explosion.

"Our Great-Aunt Muriel," said Mrs. Weasley after a long pause, " has a very beautiful tiara - goblin made - which I am sure I could persuade her to lend you for the wedding. She is very fond of Bill, you know, and it would look lovely with you hair."

"Thank you," said Fleur stiffly. "I am sure zat will be lovely."

And then, Harry did not quite see how it happened, both women were crying and hugging each other. Completely bewildered, wondering whether the world had gone mad, he turned around: Ron looked as stunned as he felt and Ginny and Hermione were exchanging startled looks.

The women were broken apart by the sound of the doors being thrown open for the second time that night. When they looked toward the door, it was like a bad horror film come to life; in strode Severus Snape, the limp form of Albus Dumbledore held easily in his arms, a weary and uneasy looking Draco Malfoy walked at a more subdued pace behind him.

Snape dropped Dumbledore on one of the beds, and before anyone could react, pointed his wand at Molly Weasley and hissed, "Imperio! "

The room stood in horrified silence as Molly Weasley took out her wand and pointed it at her own throat. "She will kill herself if any of you try to interfere." Snape said, his voice as bland as his face as he and Draco began to move around Dumbledore's body, saying incantation that Harry couldn't understand. Vials came flying out of the store room, circling the trio, some of the bottles dripping in certain placed, glowing or sizzling alternately. It was only when Snape brought out a slim knife and made to cut the former headmaster that the group moved, some hiding their faces from the scene, most letting their angry move them forward, move toward Snape and the horrific scene he had made.

That was, until Molly Weasely moved in front of them, her wand pressed so tight to her throat that it was sure to leave a bruise. Harry could feel the rage inside of him. How DARE he? After everything he had done?!

"How dare you," Harry spat, his fury getting the better of him. "How dare you desecrate him after what you did! How dare you hold Mrs. Weasley captive after everything you've done to her and her family? Bill will never be the same! You sodding coward! You slimy bastard! What? Can't fight for yourself so you have someone do it for you Snivellus?" Harry mocked the man, hoping to draw him out, make him defensive, make him slip up.

Sure enough, Snape faltered in his chant, his eyes snapping obsidian fire. Draco shot Harry a look that was clearly meant to kill, and almost succeeded.

Snape picked up his chant, but not before sending another curse at them, this time hitting Hermione, making her fall to the floor screaming, clutching her head. Harry saw red.

Before he even knew what he was doing, his magic burst, whipping the curtains and the bed clothes into a frenzy. As his magic ran free through the room, it pushed everyone away, until it reached its target; Snape.

Harry used his raw magic to hurt his former professor, sending against the wall, crushing his bones. Just as he thought he had killed the slimy traitor, his Magic was forced back into himself, shut down, leaving the boy feeling empty and faint.

And, just as everything went black, Harry could swear he heard someone yell, 'Uncle Sev!', and felt the presence of magic so strong, it had his bones vibrating from it, but it must have been a dream, for he was already gone.

* * *

The end! (No, I'm kidding. Wouldn't it piss you off it I did that though? )

About an hour later.

* * *

Harry woke up, his head pounding. He shook his head, wondering if he should go to the infirmary.

Then he remembered what had woken him up; screaming. Someone was screaming.

Shooting up out of his bed, his eyes were greeted by a sight straight out of a nightmare. Lupin, Tonks, Mr. Weasley, and Ginny were in a circle, casting Crucio on a huddled figure in the middle of them, there eyes cold and heartless, twisted.

Hermione was still clutching her head, the screams pouring from her open mouth, Ron and Madam Pomfrey surrounded her, their faces pale and drawn.

Malfoy was still standing next to the Headmaster, his lips moving in a silent chant, blood dripping from his arm.

Harry was going to go try to stop the madness when he noticed Mrs. Weasley's crumpled form in the center of the room.

"_No. Please Merlin, No_!" Harry moaned, racing to his fallen Mother-figure.

Upon finding a pulse, he breathed a sigh of relief, picking her up in his arms, struggling against her weight and his pounding headache, and moved her to the nearest bed, placing her down softly before turning back to the others, who had yet to even register his presence.

Just as he was fixing to stand, a voice he had thought never to hear again boomed, "Stop!"

As thought trained, everyone turned to look at the Headmaster, their minds refusing to wrap around what was going on, leaving their mouths to flop open as they just stared, even Hermione, still clutching her head, went quiet.

The Headmaster got up from the bed and walked unsteadily towards the huddled figure still lying on the floor.

Draco raced around him, getting to the person first, turning him around to reveal the battered face of Professor Snape. Harry had to fight the urge to throw-up.

The mans face had been beaten so badly that Harry could hardly tell who it was; his prodigious nose was broken flat, his high cheek bones were hidden under severe swelling and his unique eyes were shut tight, fighting the pain.

Draco let out a choked sob and even Dumbledore could do nothing but stare unblinkingly."M-my child," Dumbledore whispered, "what have they done to you? Oh, what have they done to you, my poor little snake?"

Dumbledore bent down, and with the help of Draco, they moved Snape to one of the few open beds, laying him down gently, but still causing his to groan. Throughout the entire display, no one moved, no on made a noise, Harry couldn't even tell if anyone was breathing, it was so silent.

Draco sobbed again, as the Headmaster started removing Snapes tattered robes. "We never should have come.", the boy choked. "We should have known they would have done something like this. Merlin, if only he had listened to me."

The Headmaster tried to pat the boy shoulder, but he shrugged it off with an angry scowl. "This is all your fault! If he hadn't been so tied up on saving you, he could have run away, he could have been safe! But, no! You told him to come here. You told him not to take you to his manor, not to take you away from Hogwarts. This is all your fault! I hate you!"

The Headmaster didn't even flinch, he just backed up enough for the boy to take up the task of removing the unconscious mans clothing.

Sighing wearily, the Headmaster turned to the rest of them, finally acknowledging their collective presence.

"How could you?" he asked, disappointment etched into his lined face. "I assured him that this was the safest place. That no one would bring harm to him here. The wickedness you all have displayed makes me wonder if the side that I fight for is all that different form the side I fight against."

Everyone looked away, shame making them fearful of the Headmasters tear filled eyes.

Before any of them could try to justify their actions, the door burst open again, this time revealing a frantic McGonagall. "Someones stolen him! Someones - " Her shriek was cut short as her eyes fell on the Headmaster.

"A-Albus? B-but. . . .How? I-i saw you myself, I-i-i - wha - I - What's going on?", McGonagall fumbled.

The Headmaster smiled slightly at his old friend. momentarily forgetting his students. "My dear, Minerva," he said calmly. "Rest assured,I am very much alive. Thanks to our Professor Snape, of course. And in large part to our talented Mr. Malfoy."

Now everyone looked flabbergasted What the devil was he talking about? SNAPE killed him!

"What's going on, Sir? I saw you die. I saw that slimy bast-", Harry started to say.

"-- You saw, Harry," The Headmaster said sternly, " what I wanted you to see. Yes, Severus did cast the Avada Kedavera upon me, but only upon my orders, and only after much consideration. Stubborn man, Severus. Took me months to get him to agree to my plan, and even then he insisted upon the Revivio spell. Great spell though it is, I do believe it would have turned out better if someone," He cast a meaningful glance at Harry. "-hadn't knocked out its prime caster in the middle of it." Dumbledore turned back to the man in question who was down to a pair of loose black pants and his shoes.

"Poor Severus." Dumbledore said mournfully, "No one every trusts you, but you still fight on. An admirable trait, if I do say so myself."

Harry was confused, and he wasn't the only one, if the looks on his peers faces was anything to go by.

Finally, it was McGonagall who broke the dumbstruck silence. "Headmaster," she gasped, " I-i fail to see how this is even possible. You were dead. You - I know you died. "

Dumbledore looked at her, his eyes sparkling with mirth. "My dear, I do believe that Severus says the same thing, every year, without fail: 'I don't expect you to really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron, with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. . . I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even - "

"Stopper death." The words were soft and thick, but they held the same old disdain, the same contempt. " - If you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.'"

Dumbledore smiled sadly at Snape. "How are you my child? "

Snape scoffed, even though the motion caused blood to spill from his mouth and down him chin.

Dumbledore just reached over and wiped it off with the sleeve of his robe. "My boy, I really must apologize, I had thought that you would be safe here. I never thought that my side could do something like this to you."

Snape made a 'let it go' motion with his hand. "You and I both know that I've come home worse than this. Draco? Draco, are you there?"

Draco leaned over the man, moving so that Snape could see him without having to turn. "I'm here Uncle Sev. I did what I could with the spell, and I made sure that it wouldn't unravel before you could come to. I'm sorry for not stopping them, Uncle Sev. I'm so sorry."

This made most of the group look away, What had they done? More importantly, what were they going to do now?

Madam Pomfrey rushed forward, brandishing her wand at the distraught boy. "Move aside, I'll fix him up, right as rain." Even for her bluster, there was shame in her eyes as well, shame at not stopping the abuse.

It must have wrenched her heart when Snape flinched away from her, even though she hadn't personally hurt him.

"Shhhh," Madam Pomfrey cooed, "It's alright, love, you'll see. Everything's alright. Shhhhhh."

The words must have done some good, cause although Snape remained tense, he no longer flinched.

As Pomfrey went about her trade, she let our several foul curses. Everyone watched as her face changed from angry to sad to desperate. Summoning potions with her wand, she poured most of them down the injured mans throat. The last potion, Harry recognized, was a Dreamless sleep. With the man unconscious again, she went to fixing his nose and the bones that had been broken when Harry's magic had exploded.

When she was finished, she turned to address the room, her face hard and her eyes cold. "He's in a bad way, " she intoned, her voice solemn "Even without the repeated exposure to the Cruciatus, he would have required extensive treatment, but with the ill-effects of the curse, I don't think he can survive for long without constant supervision, at least for the next few hours."

Her gaze turned icy as she looked at Remus, Tonks,Mr. Weasley , and Ginny, all of whom stared at the wall, their faces either indifferent or remorseful.

Harry was stunned as Ginny stepped forward and spat in Snapes direction. "Why should we feel bad for that Greasy Git? He deserved it and more. Look at what happened Mum and to Bill, and Neville, and Luna, and Professor Flitwick. He deserves to suffer."

Mr. Weasley looked at her, something akin to horror on his face. "Ginervra, how could you say some thing like that? He brought Dumbledore back, he brought back the leader of the light. Even if he did do some horrible things, he doesn't deserve this."

Ginny just glared at her father, "Don't even try to pretend you weren't casting Crucio just as readily as us. Maybe you forgot, but Mum is DEAD. He killed her! She's dead because of him!"

"But she isn't dead," Harry said, looking between Ginny and her father, "She's just asleep. Take a look, go on."

Everyone ran to the bed Harry was standing by, looking at the fallen woman, their faces disbelieving.

Ginny gasped as she felt her mothers strong pulse, "She's alive. She's ALIVE! " Turning, she hugged her father, nearly crushing the balding man with her grip.

Ron just gaped, "B-but Snape, he said, I know he said - didn't he?"

"He said it," Hermione croaked, "but he didn't mean it. He used Imperio to make her cast 'Living Slumber" on herself. It gives one the appearance of death, but is really just like drought of the living dead. She'll be fine when she wakes up."

Harry could tell that his friend was close to collapse, so he rushed over and helped to to the nearest empty bed, which happened to be the one right beside Snape. As Hermione's eyes landed on her former Potions Professor, she paled, her eyes going wide and her breathing becoming labored.

"Oh, My God," she gasped. "What did you do?"

Looking at the faces around her, she was appalled at the embarrassment, embarrassment, but not true remorse, on some of the gathered face.

Looking at her boyfriend, she was relieved that at least he looked remorseful, along with Harry, and Madam Pomfrey.

Mr. Weasley and Professor Lupin looked like they wanted to be sick, but Hermione couldn't tell if it was the sight of what they did, or if it was the thought that they had it in them to do it.

Tonks, and Ginny looked embarrassed, but there was no remorse in their eyes. McGonagall looked ill, as though she had just swallowed one of Fred and Georges trick treats. Hermione looked around for Fleur, but the woman was no where to be found.

"What can be done to help Professor Snape?", Hermione asked in her usual sensible voice. "What can we do to counter the effect of the Cruciatus?"

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "Nothing. Only Severus can make the potion he would need to calm the effects. When he wakes up again, we will have to have one of the more advanced student make it while he gives the directions."

Draco snorted, drawling all the attention onto his slight form.

Harry's anger snapped, who was he to be condescending? "Got something to say Malfoy?"

Malfoy merely cocked a elegant brow. "Well, Potter, how 'bout you and your Mud-blood friend go jump off of the tallest tower, hm? That might make you more useful."

Before Harry could think about what he was doing, her slugged the cocky blond as hard as he could in the face.

Malfoy staggered into Madam Pomfrey, causing them both to fall the the floor.

Malfoy let out a foul curse as the Matron landed on top of him.

Madam Pomfrey got up quickly, but as soon as she did, she gasped: Her white uniform had blood on it from where it had laid against the blond.

Malfoy just groaned from the floor, holding his ribs as though they hurt a great deal.

The Matron bent to pick the boy up, but he rolled out of her reach, standing on his own, glaring at her with wary eyes.

She made the same 'shhing' noise as she had with Snape, but it had no effect on the weary boy.

Dumbledore moved forward, as though if he were the one to try and help, the boy would let him. The Headmaster was apparently wrong, since the Slytherin Prince moved from his grasp as well, circling the bed wide until he could stand on the side away from everyone.

Dumbledore sighed, looking at the younger Man on the bed, the twinkle in his eyes dim. "Please Draco," he whispered, not looking at the boy. "You know Severus would want you taken care of."

Draco sneered at the words, but upon looking at his Head of house, he started to unbutton the front of his black robes.

As he dropped them to the floor, all of the girls gasped, even Tonks and Ginny; welts and whip marks marred the marble back and chest of the Malfoy heir. From the slight tremor in his hand to the random clenching of his muscles, Harry could tell that he too had been subject to the Cruciatus curse for a long time.

Dumbledore sighed, motioning for the Matron to go to work on the Slytherin boy.

Even though Malfoy tensed what muscles he could, he didn't move out of the Matrons reach, as he had done last time. Madam Pomfrey continued to make the soft cooing noises at the boy, touching his wounds as gently as she could.

Dumbledore moved in closer, catching the boys eyes and holding his gaze. "Does the damage go lower, Draco?"

Malfoy shook his head, his face pained and his eyes haunted. "Uncle Sev took must of the abuse while I went to look for Mother. As soon as I found her, I apparated her to his manor. When I came down they were - " A choked sob cut off his sentence. "W-we would have gotten here sooner, but Aunt Bella wanted to play with us. Merlin, he was so happy, so very happy."

Dumbledore put his wrinkled hand on the shaken boys shoulder. "You did what you had to do, Draco. For the cause and for your family."

Draco laughed bitterly. "I'm not meant to be a solder. I can't make these decisions. I chose to keep to the cause instead of saving my friends. I chose to let Uncle Sev suffer to save my parents. I let Uncle Sev suffer to save you. I can't have him hurt anymore, not for this stupid cause."

Before anyone could speak, clapping echoed in the infirmary, making them all jump.

looking around, they quickly found the source of the clapping; A girl with shining Red hair and deep black eyes was watching them from one of the tall windows.

"Greetings, all." She said, voice low and lethal. "I do believe we haven't met before. I am Navey, ruler of the realms."

* * *

There. Now (After over a day and a half of writing (I stopped to eat, do homework, play Guitar Hero, shower, etc. ) I am finally done!

Please tell me what you think!

Yours always!

- 'Bandon.


	5. Laughter and Pain

_**Please read this part!**_

Both reviewers said that this story confused them. (Or that they were confused to start off with, but got it later in the Chap)

What confused you?

I'm not asking to make fun of you, or to be bitchy, I just need to know how I can make my writing style clearer.

Could you please tell me what confused you? It will greatly help me improve as a writer. (Which is why I write on here.)

BTW. Thank you all who have reviewed, and those of you who fav/alert this story. ;} It makes me feel good, even when I have a suck-tastic day.

* * *

In the last ep.

_"Greetings, all." She said, voice low and lethal. "I do believe we haven't met before. I am Navey, ruler of the realms."_

* * *

Harry couldn't think as the girl jumped down from the ledge to land noiselessly in front of them. She strode confidently to Snapes side, lifting her hand to caress his still discolored face. Before she could touch it, though, Draco grabbed her hand, giving her a look so chilling, Harry thought that it might kill a lesser being.

"Step away.", The young Malfoy hissed. "I don't care who you think you are, or what you think you 'rule' but you will not touch him."

Harry was sure the girl would strike the prickly Slytherine, but instead her eyes softened, going from the harsh condemnation of her arrival to a loving gaze. She picked up her other hand and smoothed it down the young Slytherine face, keeping her touch gentle, even when he flinched away.

"It's okay, Drax, " she cooed, "I'm here to help you. To help you and to help our little Sevvie."

Draco's eyes widened when the girl used the nickname. "How do you-", he started to say, only to have her deep chuckle interrupt him. "I know a lot about you, child. I know more about you that anyone else. Well, maybe anyone but Sev. He knows you more than you even know yourself."

Draco let his eyes mist as he looked down at his injured mentor. "Merlin, I hope he's okay. I couldn't take it if he couldn't be fixed, not and have it be my fault."

The girl Sighed deeply. "Don't worry so much, Drax. He'll be fine, just watch." The girl moved her hands so that they rested just over the Potions Masters frail looking body, and intoned, "In the name of the future owed, in the name of promises unfulfilled, In the name of the Ruler of the realms, I, Keriann Luna Navey Asheron heal my only begotten heir."

As soon as she was done saying the words, four voices rang out at once;

"'Keriann'?", pondered Hermione, obviously recalling others with the same name.

"'Luna'", gasped Lupin.

"'Navey'", sneered Malfoy.

"'Asheron?'", mumbled McGonagall.

The girl just glanced up at them, intent on her task. "I prefer to just be called Navey. Only my predecessor ever called me by my full name."

Everyone just gaped at her, until Draco looked down at his Head of House, nearly collapsing in shock. All of the damage was healed over, shiny scars in the place of deep gashes, pale skin in the place of bruises.

Madam Pomfrey looked astonished. "My, word. Had I not seen it, I wouldn't have believed it. Wounds like that should take over a month to heal, even with the best mediwizards on hand."

Navey just snorted, her face full of arrogance. "As if. I could heal anything I put my mind to, just as long as your all right with scars." She shrugged, seeming to think little of the fact that she had just done something impossible. Who the hell was this girl?

Before anyone could ask the question that was on most minds, Ron shot forward, his face pale and his hands shaking. "C-could you heal my Brother? Even if it does leave him scarred, could you heal him? Please?", the desperation in his voice made Ginny, Mr. Weasely, and Hermione sob.

Navey gave him a look full of disdain. "After what your kind did to my Sev? I would count myself lucky if I didn't kill you all for the infraction, if I were you." Turning away coldly, Navey bent over her fallen. . . .friend?

Everyone looked devastated. To be given a smidgen of hope, only to have it yanked away cruelly was too much. Ginny burst into racking sobs, followed shortly by Hermione and Mr. Weasley. Ron, Madam Pomfrey, and Professor McGonagall all stood stone still, seemingly oblivious of the tears that poured down their faces.

Harry, Tonks, and Lupin stood huddled together, not wanting to intrude on the emotional scene.

For something to do, Harry looked around the room, his gaze finally landing on his long time foe, Draco Malfoy. Malfoy seemed to be oblivious of the fact , though, since he was busy staring at Bill over the sobbing masses, his face that cool, expressionless mask.

The tragic scene was broken as the Potions Master lurched int sitting position. When Navey moved to hug him, he flinched so violently that he actually fell off the bed. Standing on uneasy feet, he backed up as he took in the assembled crowd. Not that Harry could blame him though, since most of the room had been responsible for his injuries.

When his eyes finally registered Navey, though, he relaxed. His eyes flicked between Navey and Draco, trying to decide whom to go to first. The two apparently know about his indecision , though, for they both moved up to stand next to the healed man.

Then, to Harry's complete shock, Snape smiled. Snape, smiling? What was the world coming to?

Dumbledore cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the weeping crowd and the weary trio to him, "Now, I know that this has been a very long night, but there are some things that need to be taken care of immediately; First and fore-most, we need to find a way to help young , then, I would like to enlist the aid of Severus and a few others to finish the spell that is keeping my spirit inside my body, then, I would like for us all to mount an attempt to free the slytherines from Voldemortes grasps. Once all this is done, I would be glad to hold a little 'get-to-know' session."

Everyone just stared at him, mouths agape, even Navey looked shocked, although, Harry could not guess why.

Suddenly, Navey began to laugh, and laugh, and laugh. Snape just rolled his eyes at her, not bothering to comment.

"Oh, gods,", Navey finally gasped, just as Harry was going to throw something at her, "I had forgotten how assuming the elder fools get. Oh, wow."

Snape coughed loudly in an attempt to get her attention. "Really Navey. I would hope you had grown up in the last thirty years. It seems like your maturity is the same as it was when we first met."

Navey snorted at that, her head held high as she took the sharp criticism. "Whatever, boy. You always were eighty if you were eight. I'll act my age when you stop acting your social."

Harry cocked his head to the side, What did that mean?

Some of the adults and Hermione did their best, but eventually laughter broke out. Draco glared at everyone, mouth twitching.

Snape just rolled his eyes, barely bothering to comment. "Headmaster," he said, tone impatient," I think it would be wise to skip Weaselys problem and focus on sealing the spell that is keeping you tethered to this plane. Then we need to call on the Slytherines; I am sure that they would like an explanation."

All laughter stopped; everyone just looked at Snape. Had he really just said to forget about Bill?

Before anyone else could react, Mr. Weasely strode forth and punched Snape right in the mouth. The room stood still; everyone waiting for the outburst, and when it came, it was violent.

Barely a heartbeat later, Navey had by the throat against the far wall, holding him up like he were a mere kitten. As we started to move forward, Snape called, "Navey! Stop that at once!"

Navey let Mr. Weasely sag reluctantly, her hand lingering on his bruising throat. "He hit you for no reason, why should I have to play civil?" Her face was calm and composed, but her voice held a edge of rage.

Snape just motioned for her to come back to his side, away from . "He is worried about his spawn. Most humans would be in this situation."

Navey just grumbled under her breathe. "Well, then, why don't you just fix him? Mr. I-can-do-anything-you-can-do-and-do-it-better."

Snape sighed again, moving forward, giving everyone else a wide breath until he stopped in front of the Headmaster, his body slightly hunched, weary, as though he hadn't slept in a long while and needed a great deal of rest.

"I merely suggested that we leave Bill Weaselys problem to later," he said smoothly, "as it can be fixed with the least amount of effort. I did not mean to imply that his fate was of less consequence than the other items on our list."

Madam Pomfrey and Lupin bristled. "There is no sure-fire way known that can heal cursed wounds. Our only hope was in getting Miss Navey to heal him, still leaving him horribly scarred, but keeping the risk of secondary infection to a minimum, and since she is adamit that she will not help us. . . ."

Navey cocked her head to the side, eying Snape with displeasure. "So," she drawled, "You still haven't told anyone about your new variation of the wolfsbane? You know that could have saved a lot of lives, right?"

Lupin cast a sharp look at Snape, his eyes turning amber, "What new Wolfsbane?" he growled.

Snape shrugged, giving Navey a glare that would wither any student. "It is a unfinished version. I have yet to find a group large enough to test it on, since most people keep the knowledge of an attack to themselves until its too late for my potion to even have a chance of working... I do not know what the effects will be yet. I do not want to try it on patients until I am sure that it will not backlash."

Lupin just snorted. "You could have said that you had a new version, and I would have gladly have tested it on myself, you know this."

Snape sighed, looking more tired than he had just a moment ago. "It is not for people who have been infected for a more than a few days. It is designed to fight the curse before it has taken root in the soul, I have yet to find a version that can erase the curse when it has already been embedded."

Everyone looked at him now, struggling to understand, He had a untested cure for freshly infected werewolf curses, but hadn't shared it with the world? What the hell?

"Do you mean to tell me,"Lupin snarled, "that you have something that could fix the damage done to a freshly infected victim, but you withheld it for testing? For TESTING Snape?! You could be saving lives! Changing lives! How could you even think to hold something like this back from the people who need-"Lupin was cut off as Snape started a heated tirade.

"I am not sure if this 'cure' wold even work like that. I have only tried it out on very few people and they have had some rather ill effects. I would not think that a parent of an infected child would want their spawn writhing in agony for days because of a botched potion. No. I have withheld my research so that it could be perfected before I allowed it to be tested on anyone who was looking for a cure. I will not have my work slandered because someone thought they were getting a cure when all they were getting was pain. I could not bear to see my years of work go down the drain because I published it a little early."

Lupin cocked his head tot he side now, staring at Snape with horror in his face, "How long have you been working on this cure, Snape? How long have you had this obsession?"

Snape looked away, absentmindedly tracing a trio of diagonal scars on his side, "I have been working on this potion since my seventh year at hogwarts, when I was infected with Lycanthropy by a mindless prank gone wrong. I was only partially successful then, and since I have nearly eliminated most of the effects of both the venom and the botched potion."

Lupin looked haunted as he staggered forward, he hand reaching to touch the scars Snape was caressing, only to have Snape move out of his reach. "But- Siri- he- they, he and James- they told me- I never knew that I- I"

"That you infected me in your mindless state?" Snape said bitterly "Yes, they hid it from you, with the Headmasters help, of course. He made me swear that I would tell no one what happened, that I would say that I had gone into the forbidden forest and gotten attacked by an unknown creature, not that anyone cared that I was in the infirmary for over a month. But of course, that wasn't really the effects of the curse, that was a effect of the counter curse. As I said, it was hardly one of my best works."

"Severus" Dumbledore said gravely, "You know what they would have done to Remus when that happened. You know that both he and Sirius wold be tried as competent wizards and sentenced as such. Remus wold have been killed and Sirius would still be rotted to nothing in a cell in Azkaban. I know you were shaken but-"

"I know your reasoning headmaster, which is why I have kept my silence since then. I felt no need to have two more deaths on my hands."

Just as Remus was going to speak, Fleur ran into the infirmary, dressed in what looked to be a tribal outfit. "I hav found a way!" she screeched, her headdress flopping into her eyes as she halted. "I louk'd it up anz I hav it! A way to fiz 'im!" Flipping her headress back in place, she froze, taking in the alive headmaster, the healed half naked Snape and the Battered half naked Draco. "What hav I mEssed? "

Snape snorted, trying to hold in his laughter, but eventually failing, doubling over to laugh openly at Fleur's startled face, Navey and Draco joining in.

Mr. Weasely raced around them to Fleur, "We have too!" he said just as enthuseaticly. "Snape may be able to reverse the effects of the curse."

Fleur looked at Mr. Weasely in disbelief. "'Im? 'E iz eville, 'e wuld ne'ver 'elp my Bill. I haf 'ound a way. I can do it!"

Snape stood straight, looking at Fleur with a semi-straight face. "I doubt that your way will work, but if you wish to waste time on it, feel free. I wish you the best of luck."

Dumbledore sighed wearily, rubbing his face. "Severus, could you please administer the posion to Bill Weasely? I have faith that your potion is the closest thing we have to a chance."

Snape sighed, looking a BIlls mangled face. "Headmaster," He began looking like he was going to put up a fight, "I don't think that-"

"Please, Uncle Sev." Draco cut in, voice soft. "I don't want him to suffer anymore than necessary. It is my fault that Greybeck was here, I don't want him to have to live with my mistake."

Snape looked at Draco, his eyes sad and his face open. "It wasn't your fault, Drax. You didn't know that they would come like they did. It couldn't be help-"

"Please, Uncle." Draco pleaded desperately, "Don't try to defend this. Just help him."

Harry looked away, not wanting to see the Slytherine Prince acting human. He wasn't the only one, though, as his eyes met hermiones. Harry saw the sadness in her glistening eyes, saw the pain she felt at being helpless.

Snape shrugged his shoulders looking at Mr. Weasely "I need parental consent to try it out on him. As I said, it can be very painful for a while."

Mr. Weasely turned a sickly green at the thought of his child in pain, but nodded his assent. "GO for it. It is our only viable option."

Snape nodded once, raising his hand and summoning a vial to his hand. "Someone will have to hold him while I administer the potion."

Snape moved forward with Mr. Weasely and Ron at his heals. With a cue from Snape, Ron grabbed one of Bills arms while Mr. Weasely grabbed the other, still looking sick. Snape smoothly uncorked the vial, poring it into Bills open mouth and rubbing his throat to make him swallow.

"Noe," He said, voice wary, "We wait for the signs."

Mr. Weaselys head whipped around until he could stare at Snape. "What signs?"

Snape shook his head, a tight smile on his thin lips. "Depending on how the first hour goes, it will tell me if my potion works with his magic type, or weather it will cause him hours of pain, and probably death."

Mr. Weasely open his mouth to say something that was probably unpleasant to Snape when Bill started writhing, screams pouring from his convulsing throat."

"That," Snape said harshly, "Would be the sign."

* * *

Who votes for Bill to die? To live?

Anyway. What did you think of this Chapter? Hope you liked it!

Oh! And sorry if it seems disjointed. My mom bought me a used laptop and its keeps fucking up. I hope it settles down for the next chapter, so I can work uninterrupted. Wish me luck!

Yours for now

- 'Bandon


	6. Sleep brings release

Hey! Bandon here! I know that I fucked up in the last chapter quite a bit, what with the spelling and grammar mistakes, not the mention my Com. Erasing the names and words at random spots. I hope that I can find time to go back and fix them later, but since I barely have time to write new chapters, I don't think I'll have time to go back and fix the old, sorry.

Thanks again for your reviews, alerts, and Favorites! I love them all. They keep me going through all of my testing!

As Bill writhed on the bed, Snape walked off, leaving Mr. Weasely and Ron to hold him down.

Harry stared at the man, mouth handing wide and blood racing; Could Severus Snape really be that cold? That heartless?

The answer was yes, apparently, as Snape just continued to walk away, heading to the headmaster.

"Headmaster," Snape intoned, "I have done what I can for the Weasely boy, now we need to concentrate on binding you to this plane. If we do not work quickly, the spell will unravel, leaving your soul floating in between the planes, unable to exist on either side."

The Headmaster looked solemn, but nodded his assent, motioning for Lupin, Harry, Hermione, and Tonks to gather round.

"As you all know," He said softly, almost unheard over Bills screams, "I am only on this plane because Severus used his knowledge of the dark arts, coupled with his potions skills, to tether my soul to the physical plane. But, because the ritual was interrupted, it must be finished before it can fall apart. I must ask you all to do everything Severus asks of you, to help me stay on this plane and keep directing the side of the light. I know that this is asking too much, but I plead with you to help, if not me then the cause."

They just nodded their heads, not wanting to try to talk over Bills ragged screams.

Snape positioned everyone into a circle around the Headmaster, motioning for everyone to link hands. Snape grasped hands with Naveys and Draco, Draco clasped hands with Hermione who clasped hand with harry, harry clasped hands with Tonks, Tonks clasped hands with Lupin while Lupin was left holding Naveys other hand.

Snape began a verse in something that sounded like Latin, quickly transforming it into French, then into other languages, flowing from one to the other without pause or hitch, making the words into a type of string that wrapped around everyone in the circle, slowly drawing magic out of each of us and channeling it into the headmaster. The Headmaster stood statue still at the center, head bowed and eyes closed.

Snape began to push and pull, until the circle swayed and moved with the words. Gently, he pushed Draco, leading everyone in a slow and fluid dance surrounding the headmaster, keeping everyone's feet in unison, making each word that came from his mouth harsher, commanding.

It seemed to Harry that they had all been dancing for hours when, suddenly, the magic transformed, turning hot as fire, and then cold as ice, still leeching from each body.

Snape's voice began to falter as he shuffled along, appearing drained and feverish. Right as Harry was sure that Snape would fall, breaking the magic and ruining the ritual, He yelled some phrase in Latin, breaking his hands form the circle, joining Draco and Navey before he stepped into the center with Dumbledore. Before anyone could stop him, or even guess what was going on, Snape had taken out a long knife and plunged it into the Headmaster, burying it to the hilt before pulling it out and stuffing it into his own chest.

The Magic froze, hanging in the air, waiting, then with a slight ripple, it exploded, going outward, through the room, and then rushing back to the hilt of the short sword, encasing it like lightening. Snape pulled it out of his own chest then shoved it in the headmaster, putting a new hole in his frail chest.

The Headmaster screamed as the magic flowed into him, searing the flesh connected to the blade. Dumbledore rose in the air, arms flapping around, like he was being electrocuted, then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped, the knife falling to the ground with a resounding gong and the headmaster floating gently down, landing on his feet, looking spry and proud.

"Severus, My Dear Boy," he gushed, "You've done it again! Oh, you truly are one of a kind, my dear, dear Severus."

Snape smiled weakly, and then slumped to the ground, blood squirting from his damaged chest.

Navey, Draco, and Hermione rushed forward, picking him up and carrying him to his bed, laying him flat as Navey went to work, sealing the wound and summoning blood replenishers, forcing them down Snape's pale throat.

Harry couldn't help looking at the man in awe, if Snape could so easily bring the dead to life, then why would anyone be afraid of death? Why would anyone need a horcrux?

The Headmaster must have caught the greedy look in his eyes, for he was gazing at him reproachfully, his face stern and his eyes wary.

Harry looked away, not wanting to see the Headmaster look at him with such disdain.

Navey breathed a sigh of relief as Snape started to breathe on his own, the color returning to his skin.

Lupin straightened up, his face breaking out into a huge grin as he beheld the living Headmaster. Draco and Hermione just sat on Snape's bed, staring down at his sleeping face, eased with unconsciousness and fatigue. As Harry watched, he became entranced by the movements of Snape's healed chest, still bare and bloody.

Over the years, Harry and his friends had speculated on what exactly was under the great bat's robes; frail arms, bony chest, flabby stomach, maybe even some greasy chest hair. This was nothing like he expected; his arms were willowy, but corded with muscle, his shoulders and chest were slim and sleek, leading to a flat, toned stomach and narrow hips. Harry had to say, Snape had a great body under his robes, one that would put most men to shame. Harry was shocked that a man that seemed so large and imposing in the classroom was so small in sleep, where his scowl couldn't make someone flinch away.

As Harry neared the sleeping man, Navey shot him a reproachful look, damning him with her omniscient eyes. Harry withdrew, not wanting to cause any more trouble than he already had.

Dumbledore motioned for Harry to follow him across the room, where they stopped and Dumbledore turned to Harry with a sad twinkle in his eyes, "Harry," Dumbledore said gravely, "I know that Severus is more approachable in his slumber, but I must ask you to not tell anyone about this. Severus is a very private man, and goes out of his way to keep his secrets. He would never forgive me if someone were to find out about his physical state from helping me. I must ask you to look, if you must, but never touch nor talk about this moment, ever."

Harry nodded eyes wide. Why would the Headmaster admonish him so? Harry wasn't one to gossip, nor was he going to jump his Professor, even if he were the best looking man in the world, in the end, he was still a snarky, old, evil person.

The Headmaster sighed, moving back to the group. Harry just stood, looking at the assembled groups; McGonagall, Lupin, Tonks, Ron, Mr. Weasely, and Fleur were gathered around Bill, grim looks on their faces, Draco, Hermione, and Navey were washing Snape's bloodied body and hair, rinsing of the blood with different spells and drying it before it could run down his sides to the bed. The Headmaster joined the Bill group, holding McGonagall and patting Mr. Weasely on the shoulder.

Harry glanced back at the Snape group just in time to see Navey stroking his scars, letting her hand trace each one all the way down his chest to his exposed stomach. Harry starts as he realizes that while he had been staring at Snape's exposed flesh for upwards of ten minutes earlier, he hadn't register the numerous scars marring the pale expanse of flesh. With unknowing thought, Harry walked to that group, running a quaking hand down the scars that Moony had left behind after that prank many years ago, wondering how Snape could ever have gotten over it, how Snape had managed to pick up the pieces and make his life keep going. Navey made a weird growling noise, throwing daggers at Harry with her eyes, but she didn't stop her gentle caresses, even when harry moved from the wolf scars to others, some almost faded to nothing, others still prominent and boldly outlined by milky skin.

As harry was tracing a scar directly over Snape's heart, the man whimpered in his sleep, cringing away from the hands that were touching him. Harry drew his hand away quickly, as though burned, but Navey just kept up her gentle pets, humming a lullaby that settled Snape back to peaceful dreams. Harry was mystified as the fearsome Snape cuddled into Navey's hand, a soft smile curving his normally pinched lips.

Everyone jumped, though when, with a final shriek, Bill went silent. Harry turned, his face hard and cold, as he watched Bill draw one last, ragged breath before becoming totally still, all signs of life gone from his now perfect body.

Mr. Weasely let out an inhuman moan, sinking to the floor, his face a mask of pain and despair. Harry felt the tears run down his cheeks as he watched Ron break down, hitting the floor so hard, so many times that his fingers broke, swelling his hands to the size of a baseball glove.

Navey made an odd snorting sound, drawing the attention of those not lost to their grief to her. Upon seeing her smug face, harry let himself go; let himself launch at her, crashing them both to the ground. As Harry hit Naveys face over and over, unintelligible words flew from his mouth, some in Parseltounge some in English.

Navey just laughed on, not bothering to defend herself from Harry's ineffective blows. Finally, though, she tossed him to the side, getting up and dusting herself off, still laughing like a madman. All the noise must have woken Snape, because he was awake and staring around him, eyes dazed and unfocused, still cloudy with sleep.

Harry just glared at him, hating him for killing Bill. Hating him for being alive. Hating him for hating his Mum. Hating him for the state of the war. Hating him for everything that had ever gone wrong in the world.

Snape's eyes finally focused, finding the still Bill, the laughing Navey, the tortured look on Mr. Weasely's face, and finally, Harry, sprawled on the floor, glaring at him. "What did I miss?" He rasps his voice hoarse and raw.

Navey stops her manic laughter just long enough to gasp, "They think the kid's dead. Oh, these runts are lacking some brain cells!"

Snape jumps off the bed, rushing to Bills side, taking him measures with his wand, checking his vitals.

Harry is shocked to hear Snape sigh in relief, his shoulders slumping to a more comfortable position. "He'll be fine." Snape informs us, summoning a leather journal, writing Bills information in it, making a new page somewhere at the end of the book. "He is just exhibiting the signs of death. If one were to check before the panic, they would find that his has a strong, but soft pulse, that he breathes and is still functioning. The potion has been a success in this case. Given a few hours, Weasely should be up and walking around, better than before."

Mr. Weasely looks at Snape, his mouth hanging open, his eyes filled to the brim with gratitude. "Severus, how could I ever-"

"Never speak of this, Arthur. Never tell anyone what happened here. Your boy could well have died because of this experimental potion. You would be down a child and I would have lost my potions masters license. You are to never speak of this. Not even if or when I publish this potion. Are we clear?"

Before Mr. Weasely could even open his mouth again, Snape collapsed, falling to the ground without warning, his head striking with a resounding thwack. Harry winced as Snape groaned, not opening his eyes. Navey and Draco Rushed forward, struggling to lift the man to his bed. Mr. Weasely and Ron helped, shaken out of their dazes and grinning like fools. Mme. Pomfrey scowled at the new damage to her wards; broken hands, cracked skulls, shock, the list was growing too long for just one Mediwizard. Navey tucked Snape into his bed again, shaking her head with a small smile on her lips. "Oh," she cooed, "My little Sevvie never gets a break. Always being rushed from one problem to the next without any rest."

The Headmaster chuckled, folding his hands in front of him. "I would like to give Severus some well deserved rest and relaxation, but I fear there is too little time to allow it. We still must rouse the Slytherines and give them the information they have long waited for. Then we must set way for the new stage of this war. Severus is so important in all of these things; we cannot afford to give him more than an hour's rest.

Navey snorted, rolling her eyes at Dumbledore. "He will sleep until he feels the need to waken. I will not have him run himself to the ground for you anymore. Besides," she drawled, "I already told the Slytherines about my plans for the war, your bear no weight to them. They only listen to what will make their Head happy, and that does not lie with you. I am sorry, Dumbledore, but you are no longer needed."

With that she threw something that looked like straight magic at him, making him vanish in a cloud of smoke and flame.

"Well," She said, "Looks like my little Sevvie can sleep all he wants without that clod in the way."

Haha. The end. Of this Chapter. Hope you like it. I spent most of my day on this, so I think it deserves a review or two, don't you?

Anywho. Who wants Dumbledore alive? Dead? Vote now!


	7. The end of one day begins another

Sigh! The people who voted said to keep Dumbles alive. Garr. I REALLY hate this guy! I wish I could have just left him dead . . . but the story wouldn't evolve without him! Anyways! Thanks for those of you who reviewed! Love ya'll!

Oh, I might have to go on hiatus. Just till my tests are over with! I hope to be able to write in between them, but with all the reviews and homework, I don't know if I can keep it up. Not and have my chapters up to your standards. Just try to bear with me on this. I hate to leave ya'll hanging and all, but I can't find enough hours in the day!

". . . She threw something that looked like straight magic at him, making him vanish in a cloud of smoke and flame.

'Well,' she said, 'Looks like my little Sevvie can sleep all he wants without that clod in the way.'"

Harry just gaped at her, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. Then, like a whirlwind, everyone started to panic, shouting at each other and at Navey, gesturing threateningly, and even breaking down.

Navey just cocked an eyebrow, ignoring everyone after that.

Harry watched, horrified, as she went about smoothing down Snape's hair, brushing it lovingly from his face, not showing any remorse for killing someone in cold blood, someone she herself had just helped save.

Out of nowhere, Harry felt pure magic building, racing through the room, binding everyone making noise to the walls.

By the time everyone was pinned, only Harry, Draco, Hermione, and Navey were left on the ground, everyone else lined up on the walls, like startled paintings.

"Now," Navey hissed, "If you would all please BE QUIET! If I hadn't made it perfectly clear by banishing that clod, I want Sevvie to REST, and you loud brats are not helping my cause. If I do not get perfect silence for the duration of his slumber, then I will send you all to limbo as well."

Hermione raised her hand, clearly asking permission before speaking her thoughts. Navey nodded to her, motioning to keep her voice down.

"Thank you, Ma'am." Hermione whispered, "I would just like to ask where you sent the headmaster? You- you didn't k-kill him? Did you? Merely sent him somewhere?"

Navey cringed at the Ma'am comment, but nodded her head, "I sent him to a different plane, where he will simply sit and sulk for a couple of hours. My Sevvie would be rather sour with me if I wasted his hard work. Plus, for some odd reason, Sevvie likes the doddering old fool. I'm not about to have him upset with me over something stupid like this."

Hermione nodded, a timid smile gracing her lips. "Will he be back in time for dinner? And, what DID you tell the Slytherines? If you don't mind me asking, of course?"

Navey just shrugged," I don't know. I'm not bringing him back until Sevvie wakes up, whatever time that may be. I told Sevvie's little Slytherines the truth, all of it. About the war, about Voldie, about all of it, even Sevvie's part in it, and how he has been a spy for years, not an advocate. They were skeptical, at first, but they all came around in the end when I brought Drax into it. You lot would be shocked to find that they don't really want to join Voldie, they just don't want to join you."

Hermione nodded, understanding what Navey was saying even though no one else seemed to.

Harry raised his hand, wanting to ask a question, but feeling ridiculous. Navey nodded again, giving him permission. "What does that mean? If they don't want to be on the side of the light, doesn't that mean that they're on the side of the dark?"

Hermione and Navey both shook their heads, opening their mouths together to speak,

"Not necessarily, Harry, they could-"Hermione says patiently.

"Your quite the close minded little runt, aren't you?" sneered Navey.

The two looked at each other, motioning for the other to go first. Navey left the explaining to Hermione, since anything she said wouldn't be helpful.

"Harry," Hermione scolded, "The world is not good and bad, nor light and dark. There are many different sides in this war. There are those who fight for Voldemort because they want to, those who fight because they have to, those who choose to hide and stay out of the war, and those who only join him because they cannot join us. Even if they did want to join, would we let them without mistrust? Could they join and fight at our sides or would we keep them at arm's length? If I were a Slytherine, I doubt that I would join, fearing the persecution of both the light side and the dark side."

Harry thought about it for awhile, head tilted to the side, saying, finally, "But how are they going to know that we would treat them like villains if they don't try? It's not like they can judge us without an example."

Navey laughed and Hermione looked down, her face severe. "Don't they have an example, Harry? Think about Professor Snape. Hasn't he been on the side of the light for years and we still don't trust him? Still treat him like a Death Eater? I don't blame them for not joining. I can't even blame them for hating us. I know that, If I were them, I would hate you all too."

Harry gaped at her, his mind refusing to believe what he was hearing; Hermione defending the Slytherines?

Navey clapped, smiling at Hermione, "You're the first one to get that, you know? I normally have to tell people right out for them to understand the pain of always being the outsider. Congrats, girl, you're more advanced that most of the human population."

Hermione blushed, fidgeting with the edge of her robe. "I just put the pieces together. I couldn't comprehend how anyone could stand fighting for a monster like Voldemort, so I did some research and asked around. Anyone could have done it, if they had a mind to."

Navey sighed, "Yes, anyone COULD but very few CARE to. Even through all of this destruction, few people stop to think of the why behind it. No one likes to admit that they are part of the cause."

Hermione nodded, casting her glance to Draco and Snape, her eyes flicking in between them. "I had hoped that, once the war was over, people would put behind old hate and start fresh, but recently, I have begun to doubt the possibility of peace."

Navey glanced at those on the wall and those surrounding her, her eyes sad and moist. "I too had begun to doubt the possibility of peace on this realm, but, with Sevvie here, I could not abandon it to its fate. I am hoping that, if all goes according to plan, I can destroy one of the two main factions in the war, creating a sort of peace long enough for Severus to mature into my heir."

"Wait," Hermione gasped, "Does that mean that Professor Snape is going to be the next ruler of the realms?"

"What the bloody hell does it matter, whether or not that greasy git is the next ruler of whatever!" Harry stormed, "What the hell did you mean, 'abandon us to our fate"?! How could you only think about that miserable slime when the rest of the world is at stake?"

Silence rang after Harry's outburst, until Draco lurched forward, punching Harry right in the mouth, knocking him down to the ground then diving on top of him, hitting him again and again in the face, pounding him until blood flew and his back wounds split open again.

Hermione rushed forward, dragging Draco off of the now unconscious Harry. "Draco! Draco, no! Stop it! He didn't mean it! He's just stressed! Draco, please, just calm down!"

Navey chose that moment to step, pinching Draco on the ear and dragging him to Snape's side, making him look down at his mentor's restless face. "Do you think this will make Severus happy, Draconis? " She hissed, "Do you think that killing yourself and ruining everything he has worked towards for years is any way to pay him back? Do you?!"

Draco shook his head, tears streaming down him pale face, his eyes locked on Snape's still figure. "No." he croaked finally, falling to the ground even with Naveys death grip on his ear.

Hermione glanced fretfully between the two, unable to decide if she should help Draco, who was worse off, or Harry, her friend. She took a deep breath, walking calmly to Naveys side and smacking her on the back of her head. "Would you like for them to bleed to death, or would you like to put Mme. Pomfrey back on the ground to heal them?"

Navey growled at her, but nodded, releasing everyone from the walls, letting all but Mme. Pomfrey fall harshly to the floor.

Mme. Pomfrey bustled over, using her wand to put both Harry and Draco on beds, harry on his back, Draco on his front.

Tsking the entire time, she examined then, making irritated comments under her breath now and again.

Taking in the lull of activity, Hermione laid on the closest available bed, feeling the drain of two days without sleep and hours of agony.

As everyone settled, most people felt themselves yawning, being drawn into exhausted sleeps.

The last thing Hermione saw before she fell asleep was Navey perched above her bed, singing a gentle lullaby.

Hey I hope you all like this! It might be that last I post for a while! 


	8. Forgotten but in Dreams

Hey! Bandon again! I don't know how much I'm going to be able to write since it's almost one in the morning and my little sister is pestering me to go to bed. Yes, we share a room. ;'{ I know, it sucks.

Btw. The * marks in the story are phrases and words in Latin that I made up.

One of them means 'Show your dreams'

Another means, "Healing Scars"

Another means, 'Passion that burns _or_ burning passion _or_ Passion aflame

_Running . . . running . . . running . . . but to where? Where am I going? Where have been? What's going on . . . ? Is- is that screaming? _

Harry jolted awake with a strangled curse, lurching upright, gazing frantically around, searching for the source of the ungodly noise.

When his eyes landed on Mrs. Weasely, Harry jumped up, rushing to where she stood over Bill's bed, her shrieks not dying off, even after Bill had opened his eyes and touched her face.

The ward was working into a frenzy, everyone on alert, looking for an assailant. Finally, though, Snape got up and put his hand over her mouth, effectively cutting off the sound.

"What," he drawled, "seems to be the problem?"

Mrs. Weasely just looked at him, eyes wide and breath hitching. Slowly, Snape moved his hand back, allowing Mrs. Weasely to breathe normally. Even though her mouth was clear, she just continued to gape like a sundry fish.

"Molly?" Mr. Weasely questioned tentatively. "Are you quite alright? Is something the matter, hon?"

Mrs. Weasely shook her head, tears spilling over her eyes, "He's alright, my boy, my little baby boy! He's alright!" Mrs. Weasely lunged at Snape, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, sobbing into his bare shoulder.

"Oh, Severus!" She moaned, "Oh, my dear, dear Severus! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Such a wonderful man! How could I ever-?"

Snape clapped his hand over her mouth again, once more silencing her. "You can somehow reign in you hysteria and allow me to go back to resting, that would be payment enough."

Mrs. Weasely nodded her eyes bright and smiling. As soon as Snape released her, she kissed his sallow cheek, making him grimace.

Harry grimaced as well, wondering if the man's cheek tasted a greasy as it looked.

Snape just rolled his eyes, making a gagging sound. "Well, that," he sneered, "was quite improper for a married woman."

Mrs. Weasely blushed a scarlet that matched her hair, fussing with her hair, while Snape flopped, unusually gracelessly, back into his bed, yanking the blanket up to cover him entirely.

Navey's face was turning purple in an effort to not make any sound, but, with a final gasp, she broke, letting her laughter fill the ward, startling everyone.

She grabbed the foot of Snape's blanket, yanking it off him with one swift move, giving the whole room a good look at his curled back, displaying his scars more that they had been earlier. "Oh, come on!" She cried, joy shining in her eyes, "you have to admit that that was funny. And, come on, you've slept for over 10 hours, you need to eat before you go back to bed again."

Snape glared at her, rising out of the bed and walking stiffly to another one, plopping down and making sure to hold the edge this time, went back to sleep, his face going slack before it could even touch the pillow.

Navey sighed, parting his hair and kissing his forehead. "Fine then, pain in the ass, but you're getting up in an hour."

Harry watched as she stroked his face, feeling something a lot like envy. Why should Snape get such love, when he destroyed others'?

Navey looked up, like she could hear what he was thinking, and smiled coyly, cruelly.

Before Harry could think much about it, Ron called him over, drawing his attention away.

After almost an hour, Harry stepped back from his work, happy with the results of his cicatrici curative*, a powerful scar-reduction potion for Snape; even though he was sure the snarky bastard would scorn it.

Mrs. Weasely had convinced him, Ron, Hermione, Bill, and almost everyone else to help with making vats and vats of scar potion, even though harry was sure that if Snape wanted the scars removed, he could just make a better potion himself.

A low whimper interrupted his thought, dragging his gaze to Snape's bed, where the man in question was tossing in his sleep, brows furrowed and teeth clinched.

Navey stood from her seat, rushing to her side, running her hand from his chest to his temple, eyes closed, clearly doing a scan. She clearly found her answer, for she flinched back, holding her hand to her chest as though she had burned it. When her eyes finally opened, she glared right at Harry, making everyone else glance his way, wondering, clearly, if he had done something to the man, even though he had been standing by them all for an hour.

Navey chuckled darkly, shaking her head at the group. "No," she whispered, "The whelp didn't do anything. What my Sevvie is dreaming of is something that happened long before he was even born."

Harry cocked his head to the side, looking at Navey questioningly, wonder what the hell he could have to do with something that had happened before he was born.

Navey smirked. "Shall I show you, then? She hissed, not even waiting for an answer before she said something like, Ostendo vestri somnium*, and a screen appeared above Snape's head, turning his dream into a motion picture.

Harry was so preoccupied by the magic that, momentarily, he didn't know what was actually on the screen. When his mind registered what he was seeing, though, he wished he had just concentrated on the magic.

A young version of his mother was poised over a naked, scared-looking Snape. Her naked body slid down his clothed one, making the gesture seem more perverse than it was. She reached for one of Snape's buttons, undoing it as Snape closed his eyes, whispering, 'Please, Lilly! Please. . .'

Harry saw red. How dare he be dreaming of this? What a sick bast-

Harry's thoughts were cut off by young-Snape's next sentence; 'Please, don't, Lilly. Please, anything else. Please. . . '

Harry stared in shock as his Mother laughed, kissing Snape on the mouth, forcing his hands down when he tried to pull her off. 'No,' she breathed, 'I need this. I'm on fire, Sev. I can't stand it. I need you, now. Right this minute. You don't want me to burn, do you? '

Snape froze, eyes widening, the fear replaced with understanding. He stopped struggling, letting Lilly do what she wanted, even as tears poured down his face, eyes lost in the distance, watching something in the distance.

"Oh, god," Harry gasped, "My mum's a rapist. Oh my god." Harry lurched forward, shaking Snape awake, making the screen vanish as the man woke.

When Snape opened his eyes, he screamed, backing up from Harry as though he had the plague.

Navey caught him before he landed on the floor, moving him gently back to the center of the bed.

Snape recovered fast, taking in the stricken faces around him, the horror in Harry's eyes.

Snape turned to Navey, his face hard. "What," he snarled, "Did you do?"

Navey had the grace to look slightly embarrassed, but nothing more. "I showed them what you were dreaming. It felt good to show that whelp that his precious mummy wasn't all the great either."

Snape growled at her, turning to face the rest of the room slowly, his face struggling for composure.

"Before anyone can make any assumptions," he said slightly, "I would like you all to know that Lilly was in the thrall of a very powerful aphrodisiac."

Everyone just blinked, not understanding how an aphrodisiac could excuse something like that.

Then Hermione gasped, "Its flamma perturbation*!"

Snape nodded gravely. "It was a joke gone very, very wrong. It seems the marauders planted chocolates filled with the vile concoction in my room, and while I was getting snacks, Lilly happened to eat them, thinking that they were mine."

Harry felt himself pale, shooting a desperate glance at lupin, hoping to be told that the marauders had nothing to do with it, hoping that someone else had planted the chocolate. Seeing Lupin's face, however, told him different.

"Harry," Lupin said softly, "We never meant for Lilly to get the Chocolates, we were simply tormenting Severus. I hadn't a doubt that he would know at once what was in there, and cast it aside. We all assumed that was what happened, since there was never news of Snape going on a horny rampage in Slytherine house."

Harry just gaped at him, not understanding, not connecting this cruel act with the kind, timid professor.

Snape snorted, drawing the attention back to him.

"You fools were wrong anyways. Had your little plan worked, I would have ended walking the halls, raving mad with the potion, ravishing anyone in view. I never lived in the Slytherine common rooms. I had a separate room, almost two floors above. I was closer to the Gryffindor commons than the Slytherine ones."

Lupin looked confused "Then how did the chocolate get to you?"

Snape snorted, "You got lucky by giving the chocolate to a house elf and having her deliver it. Of course, Tipsey did tell me what happen, when I asked, and from there on, she helped me when I needed eyes and ears in Gryffindor."

Lupin gawked, his eyes bugging out of his head. "Why the devil didn't you sleep with the other snakes? And how did you know which elf to ask?"

Snape snorted. "After 3rd year, when it was declared unfit for me to return home for more than a few weeks, I was allowed to move into Hogwarts full time. During summers, when I didn't have to worry about you lot, I became acquainted with everyone and everything in the castle."

Everyone stared, Why would it be declared unfit for only some of the time? Wouldn't they just place him somewhere else All of the time?

Snape caught the looks and smiled, his face looking manic, crazed, "Dumbledore sent someone to investigate my family after I came to school 2nd year on a broom, instead of on the train. When he found that 'Mild abuse'", Snape cringed at the phrase, "was happening there, he found a way for me to stay there only a week or two out of the summer, the rest spent at Hogwarts. I had asked why I couldn't just live at Hogwarts fulltime, which I thought was more reasonable that sending me home, then coming for me two weeks later, Dumbledore said that my mother had made the arrangements herself, not allowing for anything else. I was, truthfully, happy that my mother would put up a fight to keep me, but all of it was a clever ploy at my future riches. I went home each year, and came back each year, because she wished to get rich."

Everyone gaped more, their eyes bugging out of their heads at what Snape described. What the hell kind of parents did he have?

Navey chuckled darkly in the background, her face twisted with malice. "Oh, Sevvie, you really need to stop editing things like that. Now, everyone here thinks that Dumbles tried his hardest to save you from the abuse! That cannot do! Here, I'll tell them what Really happened,"

* * *

Sorry, that's the end of this chapter, I have to go make diddin. Yum, dindin. Hope you all liked it.

Comment/Fav/Alert it, please!


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